Sparking Chaos
by DarkPokemonLover
Summary: Rick Tortoas always wanted to understand the mind of pokemon. When his curiosity made him become a pikachu by accident, he may get his chance... but at a price.
1. Deceiving Curiosity

AN: Here I am, posting that story I have been working on for so long and never had the courage to post. Before actually getting to the story, I would want to thank Fragmented Disillusionment for giving me the idea to write this in the first place, and letting me set my story in the same universe/timeline as his own TF story, Minor Miscalculations, which I encourage you to read if you didn't, it's good. I also want to thank Kirby Oak and Reeds for proof-reading it and K.A. for helping me to improve (thought I still have a long way to go). Since English is not my first language, you shouldn't expect the best use of the language you ever saw, but I did my best with the knowledge I have. I hope you enjoy a good reading anyway, and I will try to get better as the story progress. Oh, reviews would be appreciated and be free to flame me if you want.

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Chapter 1: Deceiving curiosity

Another few hours of hard work was done; it would be dinner time soon. As much as Rick wanted it, he could not simply rush to eat, for the computer he was currently working on was directly connected to the biggest and most essential database in Kanto: the famous digital pokemon storing system, commonly known as Bill's PC system. He wasn't working from just any computer either. The marvel of technology he controlled was one of the most powerful computers available, strategically located inside Bill own research laboratory north of Cerulean, with levels of control on the system that only the main database's computer could surpass. That link with it was crucial for him to execute some sensible tasks, but, like any special access, it came with a price. He had to deactivate nearly much of the system safety measures that protected it against most of frequent type of errors in the database, leaving Rick to manually solve any problem it could encounter while he was working on it. Any error from him, any lack of attention, if only just one second, and the system would crash, instantly cutting trainers of Kanto from their reserve Pokemon for a few hours, causing millions of dollars in lost to the pokemon industry. However, no matter how grim that premise seemed at first, it was nothing when compared to the inevitable death of the hundreds of pokemon being transferred at the moment of the crash, their data lost forever in the miles of optical cables around Kanto.

Giving that much power to one individual would have seem irresponsible, if it wasn't that the few allowed in the lab were personally chosen by Bill. As a 20 years old student on internship, Rick could consider himself privileged to be able to work at such an important position; not that he didn't deserved it. His papers on pokemon intelligence and his unmatched computer skills amazed even the most brilliant minds of Saffron University, including the world-renowned Professor Samuel Oak.

After entering what seemed to be a fleet of passwords and codes, the young man could finally get a well-deserved rest, if only giving him time to eat something before returning to the challenge of controlling such an important system. Rising from his seat, he put his trusty bag on his back and made his way to the restroom at a quick pace. As he entered the room, he set his eyes on the small table at the center of it. The layout of the small room was modest, with its plain white walls, the only furniture in it being a small counter with some essentials kitchen appliances, a fridge next to it and that cheap plastic table: simple and practical. If only Bill system could be like that, his job would be much easier, but it would also takes away a large part of the fun. Quickly, he threw his bag on the table, opened it and took a sandwich out, letting his mouth make quick work of it. Being so concentrated on eating his poorly made lunch, he didn't hear Bill enter the lab and make his way into the room doorway. The older man watched him eat for a few moments, before finally breaking the ice.

"I didn't know dinner was now at 3 pm." he said while laughing lightly, joking about the whole matter. Rick calmly turned his head to face Bill, raising an eyebrow. From all he would have expected from the imminent scientist, that sudden burst of joy was the very last thing he had in mind. Bill wasn't exactly the most expressive man in the scientific community. Far from the outgoing personality of his good friend Samuel Oak, who seemingly took more pleasure in being in front of a camera or a microphone than being in his lab, Bill usually stayed in shadow, only going out when he invented something new.

He wasn't a cold man, thought. He cared about human and pokemon alike, wanting to make the world a better place. He just didn't show it. Nevertheless, he would never display such a contented face if something important hadn't happened. In the past few months, Rick has been aware of some rumors, circulating among the scientific community, stating that Bill was working on a special project that would revolutionize the relations between humans and pokemon. Apparently, it was something about being able to enter one's pokemon mind. Most didn't believe it, but Rick was one of the few convinced it had some basis.

"Yeah... I didn't really had time to eat before." He paused, eating the rest of his sandwich. "You seem in a good mood today professor, have you been doing something _special_ lately? I haven't seen you around a lot in the last week."

Bill's smile slightly fell, if only for a second, until he thought of a proper answer. "Well, you know me! I'm here and there, collecting new data about pokemon with professor Oak. In any case...I'm not there to talk about me, but rather about you and your work here while I'm gone."

The intern's face paled. Being naturally curious, he did not satisfy himself of the rumors about Bill project. He wanted to prove its existence; it was one of the main reason he accepted the job offer from Bill, even before the prestige of the job. Since his work restrained him from snooping around, he used his computer skills to access restricted zones of the system, searching every of its dark corner in hope of finding anything meaningful, if only a small file, pointing to this mysterious project. One month of failure in that department brought him only deception and confusion. The more he knew Bill, the more he was convinced he was hiding something, but lesser were the sections on the database still open to research. That nonsense left him depressed, and it was starting to show, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Bill finding out about his unauthorized search would be the last nail on the coffin. He would probably fire him, killing the last of his hope, for the few parts of it still remaining.

He stayed silent for a few seconds, thinking of the words that would, hopefully, unset the suspicions in Bill mind. "Did I... do something wrong? You know I try my best to be as efficient as humanly possible. I could always put even more efforts, if it can make something better in the end."

Nervousness could be felt in Rick's voice, his unusual lack of confidence plainly obvious, but Bill seemingly didn't think any bad of it. He couldn't blame his intern from doubting of the quality of his work, he was young and inexperienced after all. He even chuckled a bit. "There's no need to feel that way Rick, you did nothing wrong. In fact, it's quite the contrary. I want to congratulate you on that excellent work you did in the first month you were here. I knew you were good with databases, but after seeing how fast you cleaned and rearranged the files in preparation of the newest version of my storage system, I was impressed. So much, that I think that you are wasting your time in there. I have already employed someone else to do your job. Starting next week, we will build that newest version together. If we can finish it before you leave in 2 months, I swear I giving your name to one of the new mainframes!"

At first, he felt relieved; his secret was still safe. As he let the meaning of the words sink in his head, excitement quickly took over his worries. He would be able to follow Bill more closely! The old man didn't talk a lot about the next improvement on his system, but it was supposed to be something big. Maybe it was related to his secret project? Either way, he couldn't refuse an opportunity like that one. It was one of those rare offers that could propel one's career; and besides, having one of the mainframe using the name of the Tortoas family was something he simply couldn't ignore. However, he felt something wrong in all this. Why didn't he come at the end of the day to announce it to him? The man was most likely hiding something from him. "I would be honored to help you in a project so important. I love new challenges anyway. However, I don't want to sound rude, but... what will I do for the rest of the day? Can I go home?"

"I was coming to this. I would like you to prepare the computer for our new employee before you do so. I want all your things out of there and, I know this will take some time, but a last clean-up of the pokemon database would be appreciated. I would do it myself, but I have something to do on my side. Can I count on you?"

Rick growled slightly at this. Cleaning that database would take him a few hours, and usually nothing was wrong with those files, especially since he already checked them two days ago. If this wasn't the last time he had to do that, he would probably have snapped at Bill for making him do overtime. But he retained himself, forcing a smile. "Yeah... I will do it."

"Excellent! Then, I will see you Monday morning with more information about your new schedule." He turned to exit the room, stopping midway to face Rick one last time. "Oh, I almost forgot! If that database gives you any trouble, never forget that the solution is most likely inside of you."

Before Rick had time to reply to that cryptic comment, Bill was already walking through the hallway. Soon, the noise of the lab door opening and closing was heard, returning Rick to his usual solitude. Rapidly, he finished eating his lunch, packed everything in his bag and rushed to the computer, wanting to get the job done as soon as possible. First, he removed all of his personal files from the computer, putting them on an USB drive. Then, he set the connection to the pokemon database. It's the most important one, but also the safest, considering that the pokemon data wasn't to be corrupted and was, therefore, heavily protected. Each time he cleaned it, he found only 1 or 2 damaged files and they weren't really the most important ones.

The automatic cleaning process in itself wasn't complicated. The only thing he had to do was to start the cleaning utility and manually start a recovery procedure when it asked for it. In fact, it was nothing more than an advanced anti-virus program. However, the whole thing lasts five hours, during which the only activity he found entertaining was to read the hundreds of characters flashing on the screen; those indicating which folders the computer was currently analyzing and how many sub folders it has. He has seen it so many times before that he could guess the first numbers that would appear. "35, 28, 12, 23..."

Four hours of boredom later, during which Rick had cleaned the whole room from his stuff, ripped sheets of paper, putting the few things he wanted to keep in his bag and throwing the rest out. Eventually, the cleaning utility finally deigned to give him an error message, the screen flashing with an intense red light that he could not ignore. He ran to the computer, expecting one of those usual "Corrupted file" messages. Instead, he got a warning he had never seen before: "The folder F://…/Pkmn/PkmnStats/ProjectD couldn't be analyzed. Access authorization required." 

Rick stared at the screen for a few seconds, searching for the meaning of this. Many facts didn't make sense in that. First, there was no locked folder on the pokemon database. The only protection was the one preventing anything from accessing it, but, once inside, there was no additional barrier, since the first one was said to be impassable. Also, every folder has the Pkmn prefix, but this one didn't. Finally, maybe the most disturbing fact, it was named ProjectD. He had never heard of such a project before. Suddenly, it struck him: this must be the famous secret project Bill was rumored to be working on! How this file made it in there, he couldn't know, but he would not let this unexpected chance to know the truth slip from his fingers. His hands shaking from the premise of finding the thing that eluded him for so long, he let the program ignore that folder, then, making his way through the database folder's hierarchy, he quickly found it. Trying to open it, he was confronted by the expected, but annoying, password prompt. Having a large knowledge of Bill's usual passwords from spying into his system, he tried everything he knew, repeatedly encountering failure prompts.

But Rick wasn't one to give up so easily. He opened his bag, taking out a disk containing a password cracking utility he made; if this could not get through, nothing could. He ran it, then waited… and waited… and waited. Minutes went by, becoming hours, but the folder still refused to reveal its mysterious contents. Becoming increasingly frustrated and tired, Bill's strange piece of advice drifted randomly through his mind. Inside of him… inside... this sparked yet another crazy idea. Calling up the prompt, he entered a short four letter word: "Rick".

Instantly, instead of that error prompt, the folder showed all of its content. To Rick's despair, all it contained was a small "readme" text file. If this was a joke, he didn't find it funny. Hanging on that last hope of finding anything, he opened the small file and found, to his amazement, some kind of letter.

I have been aware, in the last few weeks, of some unauthorized accesses to sensitive parts of my system. It didn't take me long to track down the culprit. We all know who did that, hey Rick?

He stopped right there; everything came together. That smile on the scientist's face, the hints he gave him, the new employee he talked about and his order to remove all his things from the lab. He wasn't promoted to a new project… he was being fired! Accessing that letter was the proof that, once again, he had gone too far. He nervously read the rest of it, expecting the dreadful news.

I should fire you for participating in such an immoral act; but, being the man of science that I am, I wanted to find out find why you are so interested in my research. I read all your previous essays on pokemon and it struck me: we share that same passion, that same curiosity about the deep mystery of the pokemon mind. That is why, instead of firing you, I give you the chance to participate in my most important and secret research project ever, codenamed: Project Ditto.

The words hit him like a bullet train. Could it be? The rumors were all true? Was he really proposing for him to work on the project he had hoped so much existed? No… it couldn't be true. He wasn't good enough to be graced by something so important. It must be a cruel joke. The last part of the letter will probably bring him back to Earth. 

I cannot tell you anything about it right now. I would never let information about it on my public database. Under the computer, you will find a card giving you access to an underground facility on my property, the code that goes with it and a map to show you the way. You must destroy the paper containing the code and the location as soon as possible. Meet you in that lab Monday morning. Oh… and delete this file too.

A card? He turned his attention to the computer on his left. He would never have thought to look there, since Bill always said the computer couldn't be moved, since it was a fragile piece of equipment. Lifting it carefully, he found an envelope stuck underneath. Ripping the paper container apart, he saw a small blue rectangular plastic object and a folded piece of paper fall from it. The plastic object was indeed a magnetic card, complete with the logo of Bill's corporation he used for his inventions and his name. Putting it in his pocket, he opened the folded sheet. It contained an aerial photo of Bill's property, an "X" pointing to a small wooded area behind the lab. At the top of it, was written a five digit code: "68371". There was no doubt now: the letter said the truth. Rick was usually calm about everything, not letting anything reveal his feelings, but he couldn't contain himself this time. "YESSSSSSS!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!" he screamed, jumping from his chair and dancing like a maniac in the computer room.

Soon, he calmed himself, thinking about his next action. He wanted so much to visit that lab right now, but it was getting late, and the lab would still be there Monday, right? Finally, his sleepiness won over his excitement. He returned to the computer, deleted the file like asked to, and closed the computer for the weekend. He hastily put the map in his bag and made his way out of the lab. It was one of those calm nights, only the noise of some Kricketot and Hoothoot was heard from the surrounding forest. The town of Cerulean City, seen at distance from the lab, was surprisingly more silent, since most of the people were asleep at this time, except the nearby Pokecenter and Pokemart, open all-night to trainers.

Walking at a slow pace, he watched the beauty of the world around him, faintly illuminated by the light of the moon and the town. He stared at the forest and the ocean, like it was the first he had seen them. That sight always made him wonder about the complexity of the world and how humans and pokemon co-existed in that world. When seeing that city in front of him, he sometimes wondered how different the world would be without humans building cities and roads. He knew that human and pokemon were said to usually be best friends, but his theories had shown that pokemon seem to have a level of comprehension of their surrounding similar to those of humans. Do they really like that life with their human partner, or do they fake liking it because they have no other choice? That experiment, if it was really about entering a pokemon's mind, could give him the answer to that question he had asked himself for so long. More than a simple question to him, it was an obsession. He simply couldn't imagine living in a world where those creatures did something against their will, doing nothing to improve their life. They were too special, too powerful, to be simply controlled like that. If this came to be true, he could easily imagine the pokemon rebelling against humanity one day. Proving this, maybe he could convince the authority to change their views before it was too late.

His thoughts were soon interrupted as he made his way into his apartment building, situated at the border of the town. He navigated through the narrow corridors of that building, soon reaching his apartment. The truth be told, it looked more like a prison cell than an apartment. It was a single room, with no window, containing only a small bed, a short table, a miniature fridge and a closet. It was simple, but he liked it that way. He was so tired from the day's events that he threw his bag on the floor and jumped into his bed, keeping all his clothes on, and slowly drifted into a world of dream.

Later that night, his body was at rest, but the same couldn't be said about his mind. Like many nights before, he was having the same dream he had every night since he first heard the rumors about Bill. This time, however, it was slightly different. Like always, Rick was in a plain in the middle of nowhere. In the distance, he could see the remains of some town, obviously abandoned with time. Strangely, he didn't care about what happened to that town, because he was surrounded by a lot of friendly pokemon of all sizes. It was usually all kinds of pokemon, except there was always a pikachu in there. It was no surprise, since he always wanted to have one of those. However, unlike their real world counterparts, they were able to communicate with him in English. Some, who seemed happy, talked about how they loved their trainers, how they fed them and took care of them. Others, having scars and cuts, thought otherwise, groaning about how humans used them like slaves and how they were used for battles they didn't want to fight in. As for the rest of them, they were either silent or hugging him lovingly. That left the pikachu. He was sitting between the two groups, looking at them undecidedly, never taking a side.

It was now that his dream became different. The pikachu suddenly melted, becoming some kind of pink blob that Rick soon recognized as being a ditto. The ditto approached the man, looked into his pocket, taking the blue card out, then crawled back to a safe distance from Rick, who didn't appreciate this. "Hey! That's mine! I need it!" The ditto transformed again, getting bigger, taking the form of a familiar man in a lab coat: Bill. "You want this? Why is knowing about pokemon so important for you? You never had one to begin with! You don't deserve to know the truth!" With a quick movement of his hands, he ripped the card in two parts and threw them to the two pokemon groups, who destroyed them in even smaller parts.

"NOOOOOO!!!!!" he screamed, finding himself back in his bed, covered in sweat. He immediately looked into his jeans pocket, taking out the card, still in one piece. He felt relieved, but he looked more closely at the card. What if that dream was true? Nothing could stop Bill from locking his access to the lab if he suddenly changed his mind. He would never know about Project Ditto! That possibility scared him to the highest point. He looked at his alarm clock, which indicated 3:24 AM, then at the card again. Maybe the access was already granted? If this was the case, with Bill sleeping, he would have no problem to sneak in and discover what it's all about, but if he got caught, he could be in trouble. Thinking about it for a few minutes, weighing the pros and cons, he finally decided to listen to his dream. He took the map out of his bag and put it in his jeans pocket, then took his flashlight from his closet and walked out of his room.

Half an hour later, he had returned in front of Bill's property. Since Bill's house was close, he advanced slowly toward the wood, the flashlight off, making as little noise as possible. Once he reached it, with the trees hiding his presence, he let light shine on the map, showing him the way. Fortunately, the spot was not far into the wood. Soon, he reached a ten foot high cliff, bare from anything except a large rock. At first sight, nothing looked strange, but he knew that, whatever Bill tried to hide, he must have put a lot of effort in keeping it a secret. Looking more carefully around the rock, he noticed a small crack hidden in the grass, looking like a track of some sort. It didn't take a genius to guess that there was a way to move it. He looked around, searching the bushes and long grasses, but he found no control panel, no piece of advanced technology laying in some crack. A crack! He took out his card and looked at the cliff… maybe… he examined the rocky surface more carefully, looking at every crack, until he found a small one that was too straight and perfectly cut to be natural. He put the magnetic band of the card in it, but nothing happened. He tried again, sliding the card in from every possible position, until he sensed a movement coming from the large rock next to him.

Slowly, it slid along the hidden track, with a silence that made one wonder how much it had cost Bill to make that, revealing a metal door with a control pad next to it. Rick cautiously approached the pad, examining it. It was fairly standard protection technology, featuring a numbered panel, a fingerprint scanner and a text display showing the message "Enter access code." which he did without wasting anymore time. It then asked him for fingerprint identification. Placing his hand on the scanner, he watched the scanner wash his hand with its green light. The door opened, almost as silently as the rock previously hiding it. Inside, lights were on, showing a totally different atmosphere than Bill's regular lab. The plain white walls made the old lab look like an office building when compared to the cold, metal, almost military base feel of that new place. He nervously went down a set of stairs, trying to guess what could await him at the other side. Was Bill working with the army on this project? Was he doing genetic experiments that needed a fully controlled workplace? Finally, he entered a large room. Looking around, he quickly noted everything in here: computers, big mainframes, freezers, some chemical products and many pieces of electronic components. All pretty standard material, except for one machine. It took up the entire surface of the wall in the back of the lab. In the middle of it, stood some kind of cylindrical pod and a computer screen next to it.

This machine was, without a doubt, the centerpiece of the enigmatic Project Ditto. Whatever it was, he would find out. He approached the computer panel, pressing the power button. The computer screen lit up, displaying the words "Project Ditto". That wasn't helping very much. Then a list of pokemon species appeared. Rick browsed through it, until he saw "Pikachu". He selected it; another submenu appeared. It was a list of pokemon nicknames, but most of them were filled with generic names like "Wild Pikachu # xx". It dawned on him now: this was a database of pokemon DNA. They were authorized to keep those samples for research purposes if the concerned pokemon were dead. He selected one of the chu, nicknamed "Sparktail". A detailed bio of it appeared. According to it, it was a 2 year old male pikachu, standing at 1' 4", with a global strength slightly above the average member of its species. It died while trying to protect his trainer from a thief. Tons of details about it completed the bio, but he didn't bother to read it; trying to find the purpose of that machine was much more important.

He left that computer screen and partly entered the pod. Its surface was smooth, leaving no opening, except something with the appearance of a small ventilation grid on its side. Wanting to see that grid from much closer, he completely entered the pod. This would soon prove to be a big mistake. When one of his feet hit the back of the pod, it signaled to the machine that someone was inside. Obviously, it was designed with the constraint of having only one person in the lab able to use it. The pod door swiftly closed, trapping the man inside. Startled by the strange sound, he turned around, realizing with horror that the machine trapped him like a rat. He pounded on the door, trying to make it open, but it didn't bulge. Soon, the machine made some strange and almost scary noises. It was too late. Whatever the role of this machine was, he would know soon enough. He found all of this ironic. His curiosity let him be part of this project, which was his ultimate goal, but it still found a way to make him go much farther than he should have. Now, he would literally be a guinea pig for the project. He sat at the bottom of the pod, waiting for something to happen. He didn't have to wait that long, as he felt tired all of a sudden, letting unconsciousness take over his body. He wasn't yet aware of this, but his life would never be the same from now on.


	2. Unwanted Change

Author note: Here's chapter 2. Doesn't much to say so I will reply to the reviews I got. I must say was surprised by the amount I got. Let's not wait anymore time, shall we?

StormFang: Thanks for being my first reviewer ever. As a present, I'm going to sent you the first page of chapter 3 as a teaser. Now, let talk more about the review itself. I'm happy to hear that you found that you felt like you were in the story. I must admit that I don't share the same opinion about my work. I think my writing is bland, but I'm working on making it better. Chapter 4 should show some improvement, I hope.

MTG: Beautiful? You must be exaggerating… again. But I will take the praise anyway and store somewhere it in my heart, next to my stomach… or lungs… or whatever. Yep, it is scary to be trapped that that uninviting machine, but I think Rick will get over it… or not. But it would be spoiling things to tell, so I think I will shut up for now.

Foxyjosh: Very well written? I am the only one to think bad things about my work? I must be too negative, or maybe I thought people here would be harsher. Thanks anyway for the review. Unfortunately, I'm sorry to say that I am purposely making people wait for the story. I had 3 chapters written before I posted the first chapter (And I still have), but it wouldn't be very logical to post them all at once. I'm following a Friday release schedule every week or two weeks, depending weather I have the time to write or not. But patience is a virtue, they say.

Kirby: So you posted a review? Not much to say either, you told me so much before. To reassure you, I know what you were talking about: my first chapter. Hum… and Sparktail want to say "Die in hell, Es'!!!". I think he is still mad about what happened between them in the RP. You can't make everybody happy, it seem. I guess you will have more to say this time, since it will actually be a new chapter for you.

Serpent Magick: I'm starting to lack of things to say. Well… I guess I thank you for reviewing. Good luck with working on your story, it can be hard sometime. I'm trying to start chapter 4, but the first words don't come. They are always the most difficult for me. Once they are written, my chapter should be ready soon and there shouldn't long delay between chapters 3 and 4. By the way, I like your raichu avatar, it nearly makes raichu cool. I don't like raichu as much as you do, but they will probably find their place eventually into my story. Yay for you!

Reeds:  
…  
…  
… I really got nothing to say… sorry… and I want to post this now. Well, thanks for taking time for reviewing; I know reviews are not your speciality. Still, I got a review from you but not from the first one I expected to do it (Stare at F.D.). I can't get everything I want. But hey, I got 6 reviews and 110 hits, it could be so much worse.

Wow… a whole page of review response. You must be tired to hear me. It's now story time. Oh, I almost forgot! I'm thinking about getting a blog like or some kind of website to post news about my story or random things, most probably random things. I will keep you informed about that, but you could tell me what you think about the idea. Ok… no more delaying. Here's chapter 2 for real. It could be possible that you will find it less interesting than chapter 1, mostly because it's one of the rare chapters in the story without Rick as the focus, but some things in there make up for that, I think. In the worst case, there is still chapter 3 next week, which I have been told is much better than the second and maybe more than the first. Anyway, good reading!

UPTADE: The separators I put to separate the sections didn't display correctly, so I just fixed that. Thank Kirby for making me notice that.

Chapter 2: Unwanted change

Where one man lost consciousness, another was about regain it. In the comfort of his luxurious mansion, set atop a small hill close to his lab, Bill was sleeping peacefully, or so it would seem. Oblivious to the danger Rick was facing, the older man was not having it easy either, his own problems haunting him in his dreams. Unknowingly, Rick was the one causing them, all because of a supposed foolproof plan that went wrong. Yet, his plan was so simple: get Rick to invite himself into his project by giving him all the clues to reach it. It has been in motion for a long time, long before the young man had ever set foot into his lab. Having thoroughly studied his work and discussed with his professors, he came to the conclusion that Rick had the skills to help him with the most important project he ever worked on. But, this alone wasn't sufficient to reveal to him his most guarded secret.

Many could have the skills and knowledge needed to do the task, but few to none shared his thrive, his curiosity and his open-minded thoughts to grant them the comprehension of the importance of what he was trying to achieve. He had to make sure Rick was all which he seemed to be. His first action has been to start all those rumors about his project. As planned, it didn't take long before Rick bit into the lure and started to subtly interrogate his professors about it and dig into the public databases of his university in futile hopes of finding any piece of related information. Having him firmly hooked to the idea, he invited him to work for him during a summer internship, under the premise he would be doing something unique that few students had the chance to do before. Again, the young man didn't resist the tasty treat and investigated on his personal lab's computers. Surprisingly, was able to perform on his given duties, despite the time he lost by giving his best on them.

Such determination from a brilliant student couldn't be left unrewarded, as Bill gave away his last clues. The advice, the clean-up of the system, the letter; everything was carefully planned to make sure of one thing: Rick would came into his secret lab tonight, motivated by his profound curiosity. And so, the scientist stayed in the lab for a large part of the night, waiting for Rick to show his face. But, he never came. And yet, at his return to his public lab, Bill found out that someone had accessed and erased the file from his database, and removed the envelope from under the computer. He originally presumed that Rick had done it, but the doubt filled his mind when he took in consideration the fact that he put that file in a public database with an easy password. What if someone else had hacked his system and recovered the location of his hidden lab? What if Rick got in the middle of some fight? He could be injured, or worst!

Needless to say, Bill went to sleep with a lot in his mind. His light sleep, filled with nightmares, was unpleasant enough to prove it. As if to ad more to his despair (thought it could be a benediction, considering his nightmares), he was awoken by the screams of an alarm, and not the calmest or relaxing one. It was of the kind announcing the beginning of a war or an imminent catastrophe, which was exactly what would be happening if that particular alarm ringed in the headset Bill is wearing every night, being connected with infrared beams at the entrance of his secret lab. Its triggering could only mean one thing: someone was in there.

Literally jumping out of his slumber, his first reaction was to take notice of the current time on his alarm clock: 4:18 AM. Who, in his right mind, would think about infiltrating that lab at such an hour? Certainly not Rick; the man could not be impatient to the point of getting into it at a time where he would find an empty lab. The Rick he knows was more reasonable than this. He might be too curious, but he does have a strong sense of logic and it wasn't his style to go against it. For Bill, it only left the possibility that his lab got infiltrated, and that, whoever was there, they didn't value their safety as their first priority. Many groups could have an interest in getting their hands on his discoveries; mainly rivals research groups and criminal organisations. It was his duty to make sure it wouldn't happen, the world not yet ready for what he invented. And duty called for a desperate safety protocol.

Running to his closet, the man quickly pulled out his protective suit. Complete with the boots, the gloves, the helmet, the independent breathing system, this relatively light suit could protect him against most types of volatile toxics products. It may seem too much, but if someone had touched his machine, and broke it in any way, even if making the slightness dent, diverse toxics and radioactive substances could fill the air, turning the lab into a deadly gas chamber. To complete the protective set, Bill searched into his drawer, taking out his prized gun. With pokemon to protect people, guns are rare and not actively used by any coercive force, all preferring pokemon to firearm weaponry in most normal cases. This wasn't a normal case thought, and not having a gun against a possible criminal organisation using them would signify his death. He never had to use it, and hoped he would never have to, but one never had enough protection.

To further prove that theory, he dashed to his personal computer, typed a few commends, setting a timer. If he wasn't able to deactivate within the hour, for any reason, all the data related to Project Ditto would be permanently deleted. One could say it's a bit extreme, but no safety measure was too extreme when protecting vital information. He learned why long ago, and it nearly cost his life and those of hundreds of people, so he wasn't going to let it happen again. Even if this turned out bad for him, he would have done everything in his power to ensure nothing critical happened to his precious research data. It's in that spirit that he ran far from his house's comfort and into the shadowy woods, ready to face anything.

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Somewhere, a man was sleeping without any constraint, rocked by the soft wind blowing on his body, the grass stroking his arms and the sun warming his belly, in the beautiful scenery of an endless field, with mountains and forests standing far away, like a natural barrier, separating this green paradise from the rest of the world. It was almost too perfect to be true. And you knew it was when the man sleeping in the middle of this lost heaven was Rick.

Yet, he wasn't alone. Next to him, a creature was staring at his unconscious body, curiosity filling its dilated black eyes, stopping at times to lick its yellow paws and clean them. Three-clawed feet, red cheeks cracking with static electricity, long black-tipped ears, and thunderbolt-shaped tail; the creature was easily recognized as being your common pikachu, a rodent known for looking cute in most situations, and being a social creature, making the joy of many pet owners in Kanto and few trainers. In the wild, however, most wild pikachu are not naturally open to human contact, but this one apparently didn't mind to do so. Pushing the dare further, the rat thought it would a good idea to awake him, using a method you wouldn't expect from it. He silently crawled to Rick's left ear and whispered softly in it, using a masculine, cold and emotionless voice. "Rick… Wake up. It's no time to sleep. Don't wait until I shock you to do it, or you will know the true meaning of the word pain." he said, adding a few sparks to support the weight of his words.

It was those sparks, with their loud and threatening buzzing, and not the words, who awoke Rick. He acted instinctively, hiding his face with his hands to protect himself from the upcoming attack. He waited, but it never came. Tentatively opening his eyes, he calmed himself almost instantly at the sight of the friendly-looking pokemon. "Hey… Hi! Aren't you a cute little pikachu?"

In response, the creature didn't even blink, keeping that cold face, and equally cold tone of voice. "You have nothing more brilliant to say? Look around you…" he stated, pointing around him with his paw. "Don't you notice anything strange?"

Rick did as the chu said, not at all impressed by the pokemon ability to talk to him, and tried to find something suspicious in that beautiful, but empty field, but nothing stood out. Finding this pikachu annoying, he returned his rude language. "If I don't count the fact that you are rather impolite for a pikachu, there is nothing here worth a second glance."

The pikachu ignored his sarcasm and looked at the sky, as if trying to put a meaning on something that escaped both of them. A smile suddenly appeared on his muzzle. "Exactly", he muttered, turning to face the forest far away. "There is absolutely nothing here, like if everything had been sucked into oblivion. Yet, there is a strong disturbance surrounding this place. You have still no idea what you got into this time. But, I'm kind enough to give you a hint. This forest ahead, what does it represent for you and me?"

The question was sudden and in no way related to the subject. That rodent was crazy and Rick wasn't in a mood to listen to his illogical questions. All he wanted to do was laying down in the grass and relax, for those moments were rare with the life he was living. Listening to nonsense wasn't included in the deal. "Bah… It's your home. You are a forest pokemon. Got any other question, Mr. Obvious?"

To his surprise, the pikachu's reaction was a slight taunting laugh, followed by a moment of silence, during which the whole world seemed to have stopped, emptied from any sound or movement, waiting for a message of wisdom from the yellow rodent. "Wrong… our home."

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At his arrival at the complex's entrance, Bill was relieved to find out that the rock surface hiding the entrance was still securely in place and that no one was around. He could eliminate the possibility of an attack by an enemy group, meaning he wouldn't have to make use of his gun, which relieved him even more. Still, he wasn't out of trouble yet. There was still someone inside, and that person didn't force its way in, so it could only be one with the key card... and Rick's hand. It narrowed the choices even more. Unless someone went as far as knocking Rick out and bringing him here, or cutting his hand to get his biometric identification, the culprit of this could only be Rick himself, no matter how unusual it would be from the young intern. Whoever it was, he had no idea about how dangerous it could be in there without proper supervision.

Not wasting anymore time, Bill slipped his key card in the slot and waited for the stone wall to get out of the way, at its usual annoying slow pace. The middle aged man made a mental note of having the option to open it faster when discretion wasn't his first priority. It wasn't practical to wait when someone's life or his data could be in danger. Eventually, there was a crack large enough for him to slip in and access the outdoor computer panel. Using his unlimited access to the system, he displayed, on the screen, the view of the inside camera and other information, like the toxicity levels and such, in order to get a good analysis of the situation instead of diving in the unknown. The camera was programmed to do a horizontal scan of the room and was currently facing the table on the left. The first thing he noticed was that nothing has been moved on his workstation; every piece of electronic was in the same position they were when he left a few hours ago. Maybe it was a false alert after all? After all, the air inside wasn't contaminated and there was no trace of any intrusion.

His hopes were crushed when the camera slowly turned left, displaying the control panel of his machine, its computer screen turned on. Someone had touched his machine! Why would anyone do that? You were talking about an unknown piece of technology with an equally unknown purpose at the first sight here, not your average lab apparatus! The answer to that came quickly, as the content of the pod was revealed, showing the body of Rick, sitting at the bottom of the pod and, worse of all, unconscious.

At the sight, Bill's face crisped in horror. It... It couldn't be happening! Not to him! "Rick!!!" he screamed, pounding madly on the computer's buttons, having a hard time remembering the exact sequence to disengage the automatic locking system that sealed Rick inside the lab and set off the alarm in the first place. He began to sweat as he entered numbers and got repeated errors messages. "Come on! What is that code? It's not the time to have a memory blank!"

He mentally shifted thought every number codes he used, trying to remember the right one, but all could he concentrate on was the sight of Rick, sealed inside the pod. It was worst than all the nightmares he got that night. Rick was facing a fate worse than death and all that stood between him and his savior was that moronic door that refused to open! Bill was losing patience, and his mind became more and more blurred. Then, in a sudden flash, the code appeared in the middle of all that confusion. He entered it, and screen displayed that expected green glow, followed by the melodious sounds doors being unlocked, then opened, granting access to the lab once again.

It was all Bill needed to be rushing down the stairs, motivated to stop the process Rick was undergoing before it became unstoppable. He threw the now useless helmet and gloves away as he throbbed down the stair, his face covered in sweat and his heart pulsing like an uncontrollable machine about to explode. Setting foot on the bottom floor, he reached the control panel next to the pod, not even glancing once at the man inside. Feeling nervous like never before, he dared to look at the screen, and it didn't take more than this to have his breathing stop. The message on the screen was short, but each letter he read was a nail on Rick's coffin: Phase 3 Engaged.

Too late; those were the words clashing in his head. The machine had now started the duty it was programmed for, and he could not stop it. More precisely, he could not stop it without endangering Rick's life more than it already was. True, the machine has only done maybe half of tenth a percent of all it has to do, a number so small that it could be ridiculous, but this particular machine was slowly reconfiguring his body, changing him into something else. There was no intermediate state where it could be paused. When you considered that monkey's DNA was 98 of human's, and, yet how different they where; you knew that 99,95 of human's DNA was inhuman enough to destroy the fragile equilibrium of the body and cause illnesses, like cancer, that would lead to the young man to death if left in that state. Stopping it was too dangerous and reversing it was not something that was doable at the current time. Bill resigned himself to look a little bit more down the screen, at another word flashing on the screen. It really too late, for, in twelve hours, the man asleep in the pod would be no more, and the yellow body of a male pikachu will have taken his place.

It was too much to take for the scientist, the guilt weighted too much on his shoulders. Lost in thoughts, he took a few steps back from the machine, his eyes blankly fixing the floor, the rest of his body soon following in a single fall, his whole world having felt apart. How could this have happened? Why in the world Rick entered the lab at this hour? Was the guy ignoring was he was getting into? No... He couldn't put the blame on Rick, it was too easy. Everything happening was his fault. He should have deactivated Rick's key card for the night, while he wasn't in the lab, and his machine should have been securely shut down and disconnected to prevent its reactivation my mistake. It was simple safety measures that would have prevented this, but his confidence in Rick had blinded him. Even so, his security system was a failure. It was good in theory, optimized to prevent the thievery of his data, but it lacked the human aspect in practice. Having a monitor to the lab's camera inside his house would have saved all the trouble he went through to prepare himself, gaining at least five crucial minutes that could have been used to save Rick.

Save Rick… it was much of an exaggeration, since the man was, really, pretty safe in the machine. Its analysis made sure the required transformation would be almost risk-free before attempting it. Rick should survive the change, even if it was never tested yet on a human. But if his physical survival wasn't on the line, someone could wonder why he was panicking like this. There were details about his machine still left uncompleted and potentially dangerous for Rick. Despite this, he still had something he could do to help him. He couldn't stay there, blaming himself, when he had a way to maybe make the best out of this situation. If science stabbed him in the back with Rick's misfortune, he could do it too.

Rising on his feet, he stared at the many pieces of electronics scrambled on the table as he removed tears from his eyes. His transformation device wasn't the only project he was currently working on and, on this table, was one of the others projects. It was supposed to be a miniature translator, able to translate the pokemon language, but the translator itself wasn't completed. One of his collaborators, Kris Selim, was working on it. Kris was young, at 16 years-old, but his skills in electronics convinced him to share with the youth some of his projects, under false purposes to keep the secrecy of them. The translator was still at an early state, but Bill would ensure it would work at soon as possible, even if it only had the ability to translate the pikachu language. Nonetheless, the current lack of the translator wasn't altering at all the importance of the device, which contained other features that could be useful. It was only matter of making it work. He didn't know if he would be able to complete it before Rick woke up in his new form, but it was worth the try. He sat on his chair and he started to work on it, while constantly checking Rick to monitor his transformation. The minutes slowly became hours, Rick looking less and less like a human and more like a pikachu. This was going to be a long day...

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"Our home." said the pikachu in a calm voice, his ears pecked up, as if to listen to the magical sounds of the forest far away, a melody that shined by its total absence. Rick looked intently at him, wondering how a pikachu could be so crazy. Not only that forest is the farthest thing you could consider a home, but that pikachu had shown no sign he was joking, not even the feeblest hesitation in his voice as he said that. It was like he said that the sky was blue and the sun yellow; a fact so obvious that even the most idiotic Magicarp would have approved. The poor man was torn between bursting in laughter and getting away from him. In the end, he chose to wait for another reaction from the deranged rodent.

While he waited, the human felt an itching on his arms, forcing to rub his arms against his side, attracting the chu attention, who turned to him with a large devious smile on his face. "Feeling scratchy in the arms? I wonder why it is so?" he stated arrogantly "Maybe it haves something to do with the yellow fur growing on them, don't you think?"

Yellow fur... What else that rodent would invent? One thing was sure: he wouldn't look at his hands. This pikachu could only be joking, and this was certainly only a plan of it to make him panic so he could laugh in his face after. After all, pikachu are known for being playful creatures; a bad temper wouldn't change that fact. Yet, despite all his efforts, even his pride couldn't stop the disturbing sensation on his arm; it felt as if his arm's hairs were pulled one by one by pincers, the pain propagating in others parts of his body as seconds passed; each one feeling like an eternity.

Failing to resist the urge, he glanced at his left arm, the glance turning into a horrified stare at the sight of patches of yellow fur growing on them. "What the…? What is this? My arm! It… it… it have fur!" Setting his eyes away it, he noticed that the pikachu was now sitting in the grass with a small grin, looking contented. How dared this thing to have pleasure in seeing him suffer? He couldn't be so insensible, unless… unless he was the one causing it! Ignoring the growing pain in his chest, he walked toward his tormenter, fire glowing in his angered eyes. "What did you do to me? What is happening?"

Electricity produced by the rodent's cheeks, followed by an intense electrical breakdown shoving the man in the grass, was his immediate reply to that question. A verbal one came next, displaying no sign of anger at accusation, but rather a strong deception. "I didn't do anything wrong. If someone here have a fault to admit, it can only be you. To each crime its punishment and you are experiencing yours as we speak. I told you there was a disturbance in here, but did you listen? No! Such surprise is the prize of your ignorance. I hope you will enjoy it." He stopped for a moment to clear his throat then added. "Oh, by the way, you didn't say anything when I said your home was the forest. Between you and me, I think the fact is not so fallacious anymore, hey?"

Paralysed by the electricity and weakened by the pain of his own body, Rick didn't reply. He wanted so much to tear off the head of the pokemon and put it on a spear, but all he could do was crawling on the ground in pain. The fur was covering his body at an alarming rate, torturing his senses screaming for help. Yet, this pain was nothing compared to what would soon ensue as soon the fur would stop to grow, which happened not father than a few minutes later. At this point, Rick was a man covered in yellow fur, although he was well aware that it wouldn't end just like that. As the pain from the itching was vanishing, a new one took its place, taking over his whole body in one, painful strike, so powerful that he would have wished to be death to stop the suffering. It felt like if his bones were melting in acid, his organs twisted in a blender and the world around him was slowly getting bigger.

He wasn't that far from the truth. Under the watchful eyes of the pikachu, most of Rick's body was losing mass; his bones, muscles, organs, every connection reorganized in much smaller form, adapted to his new body. This wasn't the only thing happening, or the pain would have been ten times lesser. Like most of the mammals, the body of a rat was similar to the human's one, the rat having the same organs, about the same muscles, the same number of bones, most of them being different mostly in size. It was the few that needed reshaping which made most of the suffering, the body not prepared to such radical changes, sending signals to the brain in vain hope that something could be done to stop it.

The ears were the first to be morphed, the round ears growing into long, stretched ovals ones, one of the most prominent features of the pikachu body. The bones of the second and fourth toes fused with their neighbour, the five-toed feet becoming three-toed, perfectly adapted for running at relatively high speed for an animal his size. Another transformation in the newly formed paws was the apparition of small, dull claws to replace the nails. The pelvis was twisted and partly fused, allowing a large array of quadruped movements, while leaving just enough space to maintain a limited bipedal standing position. The coccyx gained new bones, creating a slowly growing thunderbolt-shaped tail, a tail destined to be almost the size of the rest of his body. His teeth changed, most becoming duller, meat not being the main food source of the yellow mice. He only kept a pair of sharp teeth in front, mostly for self-defence purpose.

Rick's body nearly had its final shape, the pain diminishing enough to allow him to stand on his hind paws and stared at the other pikachu again, who didn't seem to peaceful and innocent at this size. Rick would have attacked him, but he didn't take into consideration that maybe his transformation wasn't finished. Two organs has yet to be made, only found on the chu bodies, making together his most powerful strength, both physically and mentally. On the outside, they looked like two round patches of red fur on his cheeks, something that most people would find appealing. However, it was only a front to hide a deadly weapon giving able to disable creatures many times bigger that himself. Behind those cheeks, were two pockets filled with electrolytic solutions acting like a capacitor, able to accumulate a large amount of voltage then release a current that could reach a few amps on its target, doing lot of damage in the process. Rick felt his cheeks burn as they uncontrollably switched between producing electricity and releasing it randomly on himself, and around him, as they grew, forcing the other pikachu to step back as the grass around Rick was disintegrated. Slowly, Rick regained control of his cheeks as the pain vanished, now ready to electrocute the other rodent, but fate had another plan. Before he could properly charge his cheeks, his vision blurred and he fell into an empty void, in synchronism with the last words of the rat. "Welcome to my world, Sparktail."

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Syringe in hand and equipped with plastic gloves, Bill injected a paralysing solution into the bloodstream of the mouse on his table to prevent it from waking up. The researcher wasn't in lab's main room anymore, but rather into one of its side rooms, filled with many types of medical equipment, enough to possibly get the title of pokemon center, without its usual cleanness. Many pokemon entered this room, but few came out alive, especially at the beginnings of his experimentation a long while ago, when his machine was still a live threatening technology. As result, some spots, on the wall and furniture, were strained in blood and other internal liquids. Bill didn't clean it all, to help him remember the sacrifices that some pokemon has done in order to help him to discover more about them and that those sacrifices wouldn't be for nothing. Thought, Rick wouldn't have his blood added on that wall, or so he hoped.

A few minutes ago, the transformation process ended, leaving Bill with a pikachu that used to be his best and more trusted assistant. He knew that Rick would awake soon; all pokemon did before when the transformation was completed. However, he wouldn't let Rick wake up without running a battery of test on him, to make sure his body wasn't altered from the transformation and that he would survive. If he wasn't to, he would have no choice but to end the rodent's life, but it would be better for him than suffering the pain of a dying body. While he was there, he would also take the opportunity to run a few additional tests on him, which results would, for sure, pick up the interest of his good friend Samuel Oak. He didn't like to play like this with the live of a human, but, in the critical situation Rick's was, he had no choice but to let his morality lessen and let science do its job.

While he toyed with the small body of the rat, he wondered how Rick will feel when he will wake up. Will he still be Rick? Even if he was, he could already imagine the panic taking over the man when he will realize what had happened to him. It could get nasty if he doesn't have control over his abilities, which he probably won't, and tried to use them. Like always, he would have to be prepared to any eventuality.

His first preparation, as soon he finished his tests on Rick, was to bring the pikachu to his house, a much more comfortable environment than a dark lab for him to have his first experience in the body of a rodent. He also brought objects he knew Rick or a rodent would like or hate. It would be a good way to understand how this new body affected Rick. He then sat on a chair and waited for Rick to regain consciousness.

Which is exactly what was happening right now…


	3. Shocking Awakening

Author note: It's Friday again! And here I come with another chapter. Like last time, chapter 4 is already written and ready to be posted next Friday, but it might not be. I will be on vacation, but I will try to have it posted before next Sunday… It also implies that there might be a delay for chapter 5, but we will see, won't we?

Now I will do some reviews response again. I think I have more things to say this time.

StormFang: I'm glad that my review replying makes you happy. Personally, I think it's not fair that people should take some of their time to give their comments on a story and the author ignoring them, like if they are not important. It's constructive comment (or flames… I'm still waiting for one) that are motivating me to continue and offer what I hope to be better content each time. It keeps the show on the road. Or else this would fall into oblivion like many stories. I really hope this won't end up like those. I wonder if you will be the first one to review my chapter yet again. As for the chapter itself, I can't say I consider this a great story, but I appreciate you think so. I do try to put enough details, but it still seems I forgot about one. We shall see that in the third reply.

Kirby: Thanks for pointing out that butchered my "" separators (I'm sure they just butchered it again) and saying it was a good chapter. Now I know better. For those few who read the chapter before the change, I'm sorry about that. About Bill, yeah, the poor man tried to predict a little too much how he thought Rick would react. I guess he will learn from his mistakes… eventually. In the meantime… (Throw a rock at Bill).  
Bill: Ouch, it hurt!

Foxyjosh: Finally! A question! I love the challenge of answering them. I will take this as a positive review. I got to admit that I forgot about that little detail, but I remember clearly saying to myself that it would be self-explanatory or implied that he did deactivate it at some point. He wouldn't have wanted to lose his data over nothing, especially since it is useful in the current situation. But as for the exact moment it happened, I have two choices; believe in the one pleasing you most:

1. It happened automatically at the moment he deactivated the security system to gain access to the lab. Simple, but would imply someone could simply stop the system to prevent the deletion.  
2. He did it during the first 30 minutes he worked on his device. I can't believe he spent 12 hours straight doing that. He could have taken a few minutes of his time to open the computer on the table and deactivate the timer.

End: I admit it's a bit different now from my RPing, but, you know me, I won't stay far from my favorite and most comfortable environment for too long. You just have to be patient. And yes, it does look like some kind of spies' movies, but everything with secrets involved look like that, so I can't really do anything about that. You wouldn't have wanted to see Bill meet Rick in a street full on people and scream "There! Here's the keycard for my SECRET laboratory and the code is 27356!!!". Some secrecy is needed.

MTG: Damn? You have stolen my favorite half-cursing word! Nawww… seriously, your review was full of hyperness, but I don't expect any less from you. You are Sparktail's #2 fangirl after all. If you cried now, you're better to prepare yourself a box of tissue for later chapters, it could be useful. Oh, and Rick doesn't love Bill back, he prefer apples. I can't wait for your next hyper review; those are always funny to read.

I indeed had more to say. I spent too much time and words on those… should really get a blog. But anyway, it makes me happy to reply to those reviews. Now, without further delay, here's chapter 3. I thank Kirby for finding the title, which is impressive enough since he only read a paragraph of it.

Chapter 3 : Shocking awakening

The coldness of hard metal tickling the exposed parts of his body, the soreness of having slept in an uncomfortable position, the sickening sensation of being tired after a bad night of sleep; those unpleasing feelings awakened Rick as consciousness returned him to the world of living. Or rather, the lack of those feelings was forcing questions to wander into his mind, looking hopelessly for the missing answers. The first sensation coming to him was not the cold contact with the solid surface he was leaning against when he fell into a deep slumber, but rather tenderness similar to the comforting mattress he was so used to sleep on when he was younger. Maybe it was only the contrast between this and what he expected, but it felt like if his mother was still cuddling next to him, accompanying him into the world of dream.

Not wanting to end the moment of peace he was living, he ignored the voice in his head telling him to wake up and to look at where he was. What could be dangerous in the current situation he was in? As much he knows, all was pointing at him being in his bed, in his parent's house, far from the imaginary horrors of Bill's lab and from that strange trip in a plain with a nasty talking pikachu and the pain of being changed into one of them. He had to admit thought, it must have been the most realistic and painful nightmare he ever experienced. Everything felt so real, so much he could remember every details of his fake transformation like if it had really happened. The memories of his infiltration in the secret lab are even stronger, the scent of a strange gas inside the pod still stuck to his nose.

To this, his logic was again screaming about his ignorance, filling his mind with facts like "A dream cannot create odors you never smelt before" or "It is impossible to suddenly be at your parent's house when you nearly don't have enough money to pay for food and a place to live, let alone a trip to the other side of the country.". He wanted to ignore those facts, but, in a way, they were making more sense than the ideas he forced himself to believe into to avoid having to wake up. How could it be possible for him to have imagined everything in Bill's lab? He hadn't seen enough science-fiction movies in his life to get a realistic idea about how this lab would look like. He had to consider the possibility that his trip to this lab was indeed real. Unfortunately, it implied that he would indeed have to sit and look at where he was, if only to reassure himself and return to sleep. Oh… he hated that logic of him.

Stirring in his "bed", he slowly shifted to a sitting position, which wasn't easily done as said. Normally, when he wanted to sit after sleeping, he extended one hand against his bed and uses it as a lever to force his body upright in a quick movement. Maybe it was because he was still too sleepy, but he wasn't able to sit properly. Instinctively, he rolled on his back and put his arms against the soft surface, his hands pushing on it, but it wasn't working. Not only his arms were too short to give a good force moment, but his back didn't follow the movement created by the arms. He tried many times to do so, it but it was simply impossible. Had he been more aware of his surroundings, he would have heard Bill holding his laughter at such pitiful sight… and noticed that something was wrong with him.

Since sitting this way was apparently impossible this morning, he tried another tactic. Rolling on his belly and using his legs and arms to rise up, he obtained a quadruped position, reminding him of an animal. Strangely, that awkward position was really comfortable, giving the unexpected urge to run around like this and feel the wind on his fur. Dismissing the idea and ignoring the use of the word "fur" in his head, he gave himself a push with his hands to shift his weight backward, lifting his body until he was standing on his feet, a stance he quickly lost when he lost balance and fell on his rear. It wasn't the most conventional method used to sit, but at least, he finally did it. When he would have normally opened his eyes, he felt just like celebrating his little success, happiness and pride taking over him like if he had received the first prize in some major competition. It felt good to be this happy for once, but couldn't only do that. Even if he couldn't help but doing a large smile, celebrating wouldn't tell him where he was.

But looking around would. After rubbing his short arms on his eyes to clean them, he opened his eyelids slowly, trying to discern something in that unknown environment. At first, deformed forms flashed before his eyes, and a sudden poor vision not helping much. Gone were the millions of colors he could distinguish before, replaced by black and white vision they were, with few, bland colors, looking more like grey than anything else. Even with his vision clearing up, it didn't get any better. He wasn't wearing his contact lens, but even without them, he never saw so blurred, especially from close. Poor eyesight wasn't preventing him from trying to guess where he was, but it made the guess vaguer. From the look of it, he was on something that resembled a couch, only much bigger. It wasn't the only thing here that seemed to have received a grow spurt. The tables on each side of the couch, the large table in front of it, the huge windows at the other side of the room, everything was huge! First, difficulties to sit and poor vision, and now he had shrunk? If he wasn't getting worried enough, a human was sitting on a chair near the table and was staring at him. His body asked him to run away and escape this frightening environment, the only thing preventing this being a smell filling the room, the fine aroma of something really good to eat. This alone was sufficient to make him stick here a little longer, but he wanted answers about his location and, more importantly, why everything felt strange. Fighting his fears, he pointed an accusing finger at the man, his smile fading into anger. "What did you do to me? Where…" he said, freezing midway when he heard his own words echoing in his head: "Pi ka pika chu pi? Pika…"

Rick stood immobile, shocked by what he heard coming from his mouth. It was like receiving a kick between the legs, the kind of intense pain you knew it would last some time. Had he really said what he heard? His words were English in his head, but when he talked, they came out like… this! The simple language of the pikachu's species! And it came so naturally. No warning, he didn't have to think about what to say, it just came out like he if he used the language all his life. Confused, the dream just he came out from returned to haunt him. What if it has really happened? It couldn't be true, could it? Things like that only happen in fairy tales, right?

One hesitant glance at his feet was enough to answer those. He wished so much to see human feet, but Jirachi wasn't apparently working today or hated him for some reason. He still had feet, but they were three-clawed furred paws, and, despite he couldn't clearly distinguish the color, they were obviously yellow. Same went for his hands, or front paws actually, which had the same fur color and lacking a thumb. He did have a fifth finger, but it was the same size and oriented in the same axis than the others, making it useless for holding objects, this function replaced by the short claws on the said fingers.

If the former man felt confused before, it was now total panic. He didn't lose a finger, got pneumonia or even had a few broken bones. Those were bad, but in no way able to compete with the present situation. He became a pikachu! Even with his large respect for the species, there was no way he wanted to become one! He was more or less of an animal now! At best, a pet for some crazy chu fangirl or a tool for battle! What would become his life from now on? What about his dreams? Everything had gone to waste… and it was his fault. He didn't want to face the truth, for it was too hard to swallow. In an attempt of escaping reality, Rick rolled back on four paws, doing it faster than the first time, and ran to a deep corner of the couch, laying down sobbing, his face against the wall of tissue, trying to return to sleep and escape this new nightmare. But Bill had others plans.

The man, who has been watching the whole scene, found it pitiful to watch, but relieving. Obviously, the former human had no idea yet how to control his body, proved by the hesitation in his movements and the funny way he acted while trying to switch positions. Had he been a normal pikachu, he would have sent him a pokemon center immediately and required a full analysis to determine if the rodent hadn't suffered brain damage. While it might have been amusing to watch Rick, his last action was something he hoped for: the sudden realization of not being in his own body. He saw the surprise in his black eyes when he talked, then the confusion and fear. He could imagine the situation that Rick was living, trapped in a body that wasn't his and, par se, a lot more limited than his former human one. Being human inside was the last thing left for the intern. Yet, he wasn't going to cry over that. He couldn't change what had happened and, beside, he had enough time to get used to the idea that his friend would spend some time in the body of a mouse. How long? This, he had no way to know. It could be days as it could be months or even last until his last breath. It was all up to Bill to decide of that, but only fate could really tell the truth.

The near future was grim for Rick, but not as dire as originally expected. At first sight, Rick was still human, a frightened and distressed one, but human nonetheless. If his mind has truly been preserved, it would make it easier for the researcher to change him back into a human that would actually act like one. Had he lost his identity over the transformation, he would have to stay a pikachu and probably be released in the wild among others of his kind. As much he would have wanted to save him, there would be nothing left to save, and a savage human acting like a beast was the last thing the world needed. Still, there were more important matters on Bill's agenda right now than thinking about possibilities for the future. Getting out of his thoughts, Bill rose from his chair and sat on the couch, next to Rick, stroking his hand across the creature's back, as he would do to any pokemon needing comforting. He didn't want to act like if Rick was truly a pokemon and derides his dignity by considering him less than human, but somehow, he was convinced Rick would appreciate. This was obviously not a reassuring thought about the man's humanity…

On the other side of the petting, the new sensation on his back had taken aback Rick. All he wanted was returning to sleep, and he had nearly succeeded in it, but something had to annoy him by touching his back. Since it was bothering and unwanted, he opened his eyes and trashed around, but it didn't stop. Instead, the touch softened and slowed, driving a new sensation to his mind, conferring a whole new meaning about the contact. Concentrating on it, using all the information gathered by his extremely sensible skin, he quickly understood that someone or something was petting him. Petting him! How disrespectful! He wasn't an animal you could pet just because you felt like it! More scaring, it seemed that his body wanted it and instincts were trying to calm him and forcing him to give in to the petting.

It wouldn't happen like this! He trashed around some more, resisting the intrusion of the hand to preserve his dignity. Victory came to him when the hand retreated, but it was a short lived one. The hand returned, this time scratching him behind the ears. He tried to resist it again, but the hand had truly reached the right spot. He knew that most pokemon likes to be scratched behind the ears, but you had to experience it to understand why. The strokes were fulfilling the need to reach that particular spot with his paws, a spot he knew unreachable anyway. His body required it, his instincts wanted it, and the more he was being petted on this spot, the more his mind accepted it. As much he could look back into his deepest memories, never had he experienced something so relaxing and soothing to his mind. It was repressing his anxiousness toward his transformation, more than sleeping would have ever done. It was a free visit to the psychiatrist; he might as well use it. He closed his eyes and let his little body act like it wanted.

As if he had unlocked the Pandora box, every inch of his body reacted to a sudden surge of blocked orders coming from the brain, as his mind reacted to signals it purposely ignored before. His muscles, initially tensed by his initial anxiousness about being petted, were relaxing, his paw and forepaw sinking into the soft material of the couch. His heart rate lowered, his breathing following in synchronous, like two skaters jumping on the ice rink of his metabolism. He also felt something mysterious flicking left and right from his rear, sometime hitting his hind paws.

This was strange… there was no part of his body able to do that, at least not behind him. Wondering about what that thing was, he mentally slapped himself when he remembered that it was only his tail. He forgot that pikachu have one of those. He sighted. He could never have it easy in life, couldn't he? He wanted to go to the University, but he had to kill himself on boring jobs that doesn't pay. He wanted to go on internship at Bill's lab, but he had to live in a lousy apartment smaller that the lab's bathroom. And now that he was about to fulfill his dream about helping Bill on an important project, he had to be turned into a pikachu! Life was really unfair with him. Now he would want to cry again, but his body was having too much pleasure for it to be possible. This was a circle you couldn't get out of, the one of those people destined to be different from others and made outcasts, only because they were uglier, poorer or weaker. A circle you can't get out unless you did, by miracle, something so important that people would notice you. And now he couldn't be more different than this, now being the only human having the body of a rat, a cute little mouse that most loved or loved to hate, but a rat nonetheless. He couldn't be lower than this in the big scheme of things. There was no one that could change anything to it. Except Bill, wherever he was. If only the older man could be there at this moment, he would help him more than the other human petting him. If only he knew how right and wrong he was at the time. A few well placed words would get him back in the right path.

"Rick, can you understand me?" were the words said by the human, transported as vibrations in the air and brought to the pikachu's ears, transformed into nervous signals and decoded by the brain, which was roughly translated into: "Oh, the big creature is talking, so get your ass up and listen, and be ready to run if something bad happens." Granted, it was lousy instinctive reaction from his body, but he had to agree with it. It was a good opportunity to learn more about the human. His paws tensed again and quickly bounced on the surface to get on him all four again, which resulted in the human drawing his hand away from him. He then turned to face the human and stare right at him, his left hind paw facing his right to help his potential escape. The human returned his stare, displaying a smile. "Rick, it's me Bill. Do you understand what I say? Nod if you do."

His voice had a pleading tone to it and in his eyes had too, even if Rick couldn't really see it. Now that the rodent was actually listening to what the human was saying and was out of the dream-like state he found himself into while he was being scratched, the words said actually had a meaning. And what a meaning! This man was Bill! What a surprising turn of events! Thought, he should have expected it. Who, outside Bill, could have found him in the lab? It was so obvious now, why didn't he think of that before? Fear and confusion really have weird effects on the mind of one man.

Nevertheless, he was happy to see the man again and was more than willing to listen to his order, if it could help him somehow. He immediately obeyed by screaming "Bill!" while nodding continuously like if his life depended on it. Bill half-smiled to this; he was relieved to see that Rick understood his words, but it saddened him to know that the "Pika!" Rick said could mean so many different things, depending on the intonation of the syllables, making a two way discussion impossible. It was in moments like this he wished to have the translator ready. "Sorry, I can't understand you, but, at least, you understand me. You will have to use your body to communicate. I hope you didn't mind the petting."

Rick shook his head; yes, the petting was annoying at first, and, despite it felt awfully nice, he didn't really like to be easily controlled like that, not by something that didn't make logical sense and was so instinctive, but he didn't want to anger Bill; if the man wanted to pet him, then, petted he will be. He would go to any length to turn back human, even if it meant he would have to act like an animal. What a thought full of flawed logic…

Such a stupid and untruthful answer didn't the have expected effect on Bill. To put it plainly, he was shocked by Rick's shook. He actually liked that? He feared it when Rick flicked his tail and purred happily as he scratched him, but he thought that maybe he was faking it. Making him happy was one thing, but making him act inhumanly while he was appreciating that was another. He had to know the extent of how animal he was. And find a way to stabilize his state of mind before he acted too much like one. "Ok… I'm _happy_ to know you liked that… err… well… I will debrief you what happened. To make a long story short, the laboratory I gave you access is the center on my researches to understand the mind of pokemon. It's a top secret project known by few. My contribution to the project is mainly the inventions I do. The machine you stumbled into is the main piece. You were supposed to help me by improving the code and updating the analysis system. As you saw, this machine rearranges molecules to change something into something else. The technology already exists and he is used mainly to break molecules, but I pushed it farther and made it so it can actually control what it changes. Then, using the calculation power of my system, easily the most powerful one in Kanto, as you know, I was able to build the basis of a program able to coordinate the change of one pokemon into another, with the goal of trying it on a human eventually. Your intervention only made it happens one or two years earlier than planned. Did you understand everything?

Rick was staring at him in bewilderment. He didn't really understand everything, not because the concepts were too complicated, but because it wasn't directly talking about him. What would he gain by knowing what this project was exactly? It's not like it would be really useful to him right now. He started to listen again when the man mentioned that he planned to use his machine on a human eventually, and then said, in a tone of voice that didn't show any apparent regret, how his transformation made his project advance. Was his employer actually enjoying this? He would not become his guinea pig!

He stood a few steps away from Bill, grinning his teeth, the burning he felt on his cheeks before turning into actual sparks. Bill did the same, but he went defensive, placing his hands in front of him to show he wasn't menacing. "Calm down Rick, there is no need to become violent. I know you are better than this. I don't know what I said to make you angry, but I don't mean any harm to you, I only want to help you. I'm really sorry about what happened, but I can't change the past. We will have to move forward and live with it. I can't tell you yet when you will be able to turn human again, but it will take some time. The machine is not actually able to change you back in its current version, but I'm working that for some time."

The mouse didn't move, despite this. There was too much unknowns in what he said. The machine can't change him back? How long would be stuck like this? He still had two months of internship and, since he didn't contacts his parents really often and didn't actually have any close friend, his disappearance wouldn't be known if Bill used his imagination, but what when his new semester will start? Bill can't hide him forever. However, this was Bill's problem at the immediate time, not his. His problem with that was more: What would he do during all that time? Sleep, eat food, run around and shock things? It was appealing, but nowhere as productive as what he was supposed to do. There had to be a trap somewhere, he knew it. He might be in a critical situation, but it wouldn't grant him the right to do nothing during two months. Guinea pig for his research was first on the list of things he might have to do. Still, in good will, he ended the sparks and hid his teeth, but he maintained the fighting stance while staring angrily at the human. He wasn't ready to give in completely yet, and Bill would have to understand this, or there will be a little communication problem.

Seeing that the rodent was ready to listen, the scientist added some clarifications about what he meant. "However, the best you can do to help yourself is not sitting around and doing nothing. Not only it is boring, but you have to understand that the situation you are living is unique. To my knowledge, no human became a pokemon before, except in fairy tales. According to your papers, you love the mystery around the mind of the pokemon. This could be the perfect opportunity to discover more about it. It's only a matter of helping science. I won't put you in a machine or inflict you any physical harm, it would be only a psychological study. There is nothing wrong in that. I will even give you a large bonus for your sacrifice. Do you accept this?"

Rick sighted, this offer had a do "Take it or else…" feeling to it. Should he refuse it, Bill would force him to accept. Since he will have to live with the older man, he could easily cut his feeding, or give him a bad place to sleep until he accepts. If Bill wore the proper equipment, he would not be able to oppose himself to him; he is only a weak pikachu, a small rodent that most serious battler didn't use. Cute pokemon are only that: cute. In no way he could fight. Maybe with training, he could stand a chance against Bill, but he was certainly not getting any of that. He had to take things positive: he would have it relatively easy for the rest of his internship and he would turn back human eventually, with a bonus. He lowered his head and silently nodded, with a slight smirk on his yellow muzzle. With that bonus, he would get a better apartment in Saffron for the next semester, maybe one with an actual personal bedroom and kitchen. Oh, he couldn't wait for that. He hates those public services and… meeting with people. Why would someone think he wanted to talk when he was making food? He didn't understand the other humans sometimes. Maybe being a pokemon for some time would not that bad finally. 

Unaware of his musing, the only thing Bill took interest in was his nod. It did seem forced a bit, but it was must be hard to be truly happy and calm about something so demanding. Until he changed back, Rick will have to adapt to a whole new live style, a whole new way to think. If only he had more knowledge on pokemon psychology… Nonetheless, he still had something he wanted to try. Standing up, he walked to a small box full of various objects and put it on the table. He then took Rick in his arms and transported him at the end of it. Being moved like that was really disorienting and humiliating to Rick, but he let Bill do whatever he wanted, especially after noticing something good coming from the box. It must be that smell of food from earlier! "Now Rick, I have a small experiment I want to try with you. In this box, are many object of the casual life. I will put two objects in front of you, and you will tell me which one you like the best. And we will continue like this until we made it through the box's content."

Not giving Rick the time to say anything, he took a laptop out of the box, opened it, and placed it to Rick's right. On his left, he put an apple. Oh the irony, the perfect duel between human preferences and pokemon ones! Pikachu, as a common fact, couldn't resist the taste of an apple. And Rick loved to work on computer. There was the right path, the one any human would be expected to take, and the forbidden one on his left. It would be interesting to see what he would choose.

As expected, the sight of the apple made Rick's mouth salivate with anticipation. The only thing preventing from pouncing on it was that computer next to it. He wondered if he could still write. He walked up to it, always keeping an eye on the apple and on Bill, just in case the man tried to take it away. Upon reach the computer, he climbed on it and noticed that the screen was already displaying a text editor. Bill really has planned his little game thoroughly. He stared at the letters on the keyboard, trying to get their meaning, but nothing came. The symbols still looked familiar, their form known to him, but his mind couldn't put them together. It was like a puzzle where you had all the pieces, but where told before hand that there is no picture on the pieces, removing almost all pointers about how to make it. He tried to write his name, concentrating on how the word sounded to his ears, but the end result was a text editor displaying series of letters having no link between them, other than being part of the same alphabet. It was truly depressing to see for both Rick and Bill… what else he had lost from his humanity? Rick gave up on typing a message and glanced at the apple. Its round form was attracting him like a fly on a light bulb. Its scent was like the spicy aroma of those sauces he likes. Something so good shouldn't go to waste, but he knew that it wasn't probably what Bill was expecting from him. He knew that he shouldn't give up on trying resisting those instincts and perseveres on regaining a knowledge he knew lost, but that apple… how could he deny that? His stomach rumbled, sealing his choice. Survival was more important than playing with a computer. The game could always wait later. Leaving the computer, he sat next to the apple and took a large bit in it, more than his mouth could probably take at one time. Its taste was as good as its scent let him think. And this says a lot, he didn't like apples very much before.

While Rick ate the apple, Bill sat on the chair, closed his eyes and sighted. He pretty much just received the confirmation that Rick wasn't totally himself anymore. His efforts alone wouldn't suffice to stop Rick from acting like a pokemon. He could not put any confidence in him to behave well while he worked on his machine. Maybe Rick could still think mostly like a human, but he wasn't acting like one. He could already imagine all the problems of having him around the house without a guardian to watch on him. He would have to take his emergency plan: Bringing him to his friend Samuel Oak. The reputed professor had the space and equipment to take care of him and he was aware of his experiments. He will be easy to convince, or so he hoped. You never knew with Samuel. The scientist opened his eyes, looking at the mouse as it ate another bite before discarding the half eaten-apple. It would be the ideal time to announce him his choice. "Rick… you failed my test. I won't be able to keep you here with me. Your case is too complicated…" he said plainly.

This made Rick spit out the last bite of apple. He then looked at Bill with sadness in his eyes. Bill was abandoning him? But why? He only ate an apple! He couldn't get rid of him like that! He was a human, not a pet you could trade back when you didn't like it! He felt the anger rise inside him, but he was strong enough to control it this time. He had to make Bill change his mind. Fighting wasn't a solution. As he saw on TV, the pokemon always look cute when they want something. It was long shot, but it could work. He advanced close to Bill's face and looked as pitiful as he could. Bill didn't fall for it thought. "Don't try that, it won't work. You are going at Professor Oak's ranch, which contain all the facilities required to take care of you. Also, his knowledge in pokemon might be useful to help you to control those instincts of yours. I'm simply not qualified for that. Don't worry; the man will make sure everything is alright. He is one of the best experts on pokemon after all."

Resigned, Rick nodded at Bill. He was right, to everyone his field of expertise. For Bill, it was mechanic, and to Oak, it was pokemon. Better be supervised by someone who really knew what he was doing. His relation with the professor was not the best one, as they disagreed on lots of subjects, but he always respected him for what he had done to the pokemon community. His stay there could be a good thing for him, but something about it scared him: He would have to meet other pokemon. That ranch was literally filled with them, he couldn't avoid meeting them, and most are bigger than him. If he already felt an outcast of society, he couldn't imagine how it will be around those pokemon, when he wasn't even one of them. His new home wasn't so appealing all of a sudden…


	4. Instinctive Clash

Author Notes: I'm back again. Sorry for the time it took for me to post this, but I got lazy with the final revising… very lazy. The chapter was done 2 weeks ago, but I started revising it yesterday. I know, you can throw me rocks, I deserve it. And worse, there won't be a new chapter next Friday, because I'm really on vacation, and probably not the following Friday either, because chapter 5 is not written. You will have to be patient. Vacation happens only once a year during 2 weeks, and I deserve them. I promise to return with a good chapter, I hope. Now, time for the review response for the fourth time:

Foxyjosh: I sure do put some thought into this. I enjoy doing that. Maybe there is too much thought, and if there is, I'm sorry about that. I just love to talk. About the Vulpix thing, I don't think Rick will run into one in this chapter, but he will meet something as much disturbing. I'm not forgetting about the idea thought. Maybe the foxy predator won't be a Vulpix (Or the much powerful Ninetales), but I promise an encounter with a foxy pokemon eventually.

Kirby: Here's the next chapter to repair your poor broken heart. I will ignore that strange part of your review saying strange, illogical things, and reply with "Riiiight…". And, thanks again for the chapter name, it has been really useful. Here, take this apple!

StormFang: Oh… you are not the first this time. You are deceiving me. You are not a worthy reviewer anymore. Go away! (Sparktail hits me with a frying pan) Uh… it was a joke, of course. Who care if your review is first, or third or 43th? Actually, I would prefer if it was 43th, because it would mean there was 42 others reviews before your's. I can always dream (sighs). Anyway, thanks for the review.

Twilight The Umbreon: An umbreon? Kagai The Umbreon says hi! Joke aside, it's good to see another reviewer join the fun. Thanks for saying that it is extremely well done, and even a bigger thank for the fav! It filled my heart with joy, and blood too, but that's kind of normal, it's a heart. I will enjoy writing the next chapters too… especially the next one (#5), if I can fix my mind of one of the many exciting ideas I have in that crazy head of mine.

MTG: Oh… sorry… I have nothing to say. It happens sometime. I blame the fact that I replied to four others people before. Oh well… I will say my generic speech: Thanks, "Insert reviewer name here", for reviewing chapter "Insert chapter's number here". I appreciate it a lot, and I hope you will enjoy/hate as much reading the next one.

F.D.: YAY!!! It's the oh so awesome F.D.!!! I would review your reviews as much I did with the other ones, but it would take a chapter all by itself. So… I will simply say here I enjoyed reading them as much I do reading your story. They were instructing, and I used some of those tips while revising this chapter. Thanks for them. When I will have some time, I will do a longer reply, and send it to you or anyone interested in those responses. And you should be, they sometime contain hints about the future.

Well the replies are done, so story time, and see you all again Friday in 2-3 weeks (Hope for two)

Chapter 4 : Instinctive Clash

Silence. Darkness. Loneliness. None of those words could fully explain how Rick was feeling right now. Together, they would represent something similar to it, but it still wasn't even scratching the surface of Rick's true emotions. Despite what you could guess, those feelings weren't birthed from the torrent of negative ideas about his transformation. Neither they were because he was forcefully kept away from his family and friends by the jealous hands of fate. No… He could deal with that. For those, he would do what he did all his life: adapt to the situation and get the most out of it. Or so he hoped. Never in his young live had he faced something so disastrous. That time where he cried in front of all his friends at school, years ago, looked like a walk in the park compared to this now. He only lived a few minutes in this foreign body, but those were the most confusing ones he ever lived. He hated every single second he spent in that form. Well… maybe he could exclude the ones he spent eating that apple, those felt good. And when Bill petted him, those were also great. Oh… and how he could forget how proud he felt when he finally sat for the first time! Those are unforgettable moments… too unforgettable. Sighting, the young man shiftily removed those thoughts from his mind. They are only the disillusions of his troubled mind and of those annoying instincts, created only to get him away from his real goal: turning back human. He hates those thoughts too. Yet, all this hate and discomfort was still the least of his worries. His mind could torture him as much it wanted, his body could want to thirst some unimportant needs, it would still be nothing compared to the hate he now had toward Bill. Thinking of that man made him want to shock everything around him in a display of pure rage, would he actually be able to feel his electrical pockets crackling with electricity. The man did the only thing Rick hoped he wouldn't do, and yet knew was coming: he trapped him in one of those devices of hell known as pokeball!

Thought he saw no reason for him to do something to low, Bill didn't quite think the same. Apparently, according to him, it was now safer to travel as a cloud of energy stored in a small sphere than out there, in the real world, sitting next to Bill. Screaming "I don't want to go in there" didn't have as much impact as before. Neither did " that ball!". Taking into consideration that none of the words said could be understood, it wasn't that much of a surprise. But this bad excuse for a scientific could have at least noticed how he stared at him with a deadly glare when he innocently mentioned the name of his current jail cell. Despite that, and the fact he tried to run for his dear life in a desperate shot at keeping his liberty, he wasn't able prevent the crimson ray of pure energy from touching him. Before he could understand what was happening, all life energy had drifted away from him, dissolving as the ray scanned his molecular structure and initiated the process that turned every particle of his tiny body into the immaterial form of energy, swallowed inside the mirror compartment inside the ball. And now, some unknown time later, Rick could only stare at the infinite void all around him, even if he knew it to be only a fragment of his imagination. More than boring, it was insulting.

Yet… he had only one thing to do to feel better. It was as simple as breathing after holding your respiration, except the air he would breathes was a lethal poison that would take him away. He only had to free his mind, and the pokeball would help him to create almost everything he wanted. Inside this virtual environment, his every dream could come true, his wildest fantasy become as real as the boring reality that made them in the first place. But he wouldn't breathe that foul air. For the pokeball might be presenting him a vision of paradise, but that dreamland was made with the only purpose of trapping the conscious of the pokemon under the heavy weight of its own aspirations and desires. It was offering them paradise… at the cost of their own will. It was the very basic principle of the pokeball: makes the pokemon forget about wild life by giving it an insight of it every time it would go in it. No wonder the pokemon were so cheerful after their first visit into one. They could have left a full family behind them, they could have been a mother leaving crying babies doomed to suffer their last hours wondering why their mother abandoned them as the predators kill them one by one, but it wouldn't matter to the pokemon as soon they get in the ball, if they accepted a vision of the life they left as being part of reality. This was no better than brainwashing and the poor pokemon would never be aware of this, for they are unable to distinguish the dream from reality. Only the wisest could comprehend how fake this was, and those privileged few hated the round device for what it truly was: a drug.

Rick has always been one of those few to despite the pokeball, thought he has his owns reasons. He had nothing against the technology itself; how could one hate such brilliant display of human knowledge cramped in a space so small? He had nothing against its purpose either. The pokeball could be useful, when used properly. In good hands, it could help both human and pokemon, like it was long ago, in the far away times of its creation. In those times, pokemon training wasn't something everyone could achieve; even the word "pokemon" or the concept of training weren't invented yet. Only some people, maybe one in a thousand, were able to tame the monsters and were hold in high esteem. Their skill to tame the beasts was useful when one of them was ravaging a nearby village. But, alas, the rarity of those gifted individuals implied they weren't always there to save a village or city when it needed help. In most cases, the police had no choice but to use firearm to kill or badly injure the pokemon in order to stop the threat. It was a common tactic, but most of the scientific community agreed on the need of a non-lethal weapon for the police to use. After decades of research, Silph Co., a major weapon producer, came up with the first model of pokeball. It was acclaimed as the discovery of the century and quickly became widely used by police forces. Pokemon were captured, brought back into their natural habitat, and nobody was hurt. If only it could have stayed that way, things would have been so much better, but it wasn't what history had in store for the pokemon. In the following months of its release, the pokeball sales quickly fell, as well as the sales of most conventional weapons, as the people using it understood that the captured monsters became attached to them after capture and, thus, were ready to help them. Soon, those pokemon became the main weapon of the police force, some policeman sometime having many of them, removing the need for firearms. As the whole weaponry industry was coming to a downfall, one man came in with a brilliant idea that saved it: If the police could use the ball so easily, why not everyone? Thank to a massive advertising campaign, the "pokemon" were born, now to be owned by anyone able to spend a few bucks on a pokeball, and with it came the dumb habit of leaving them to rot in their ball when unneeded.

This last point was what angered Rick to near obsession. Why leave hundreds of pokemon you don't use in those balls when you could release them. More concerning, why keep them in their ball when you traveled on the road? They had only a maximum of six pokemon of them, not fifty, and they would probably enjoy breathing the fresh air of the real world more than the virtual universe of the pokeball. Rick knew the simple and sickening answer: people cared for more themselves than for their pokemon. Why spend money on food when they don't need it in their ball? Why spend time playing with them when the pokeball would give them that? Those people didn't have the right to own pokemon, and certainly wouldn't have century ago. What had been a gift was now something took for granted, like having electricity powering houses. People will never understand how lucky they are until they would lose it. This was how humanity thought.

Rick sighed (mentally, at least). Why does this matter to him anyway? He was now one of those pokemon, in no position to change the way the world works. Ironically, he was nothing more than another prisoner of the balls he hated and it would still torture him until he accepted it. He might as well do that... if he kept in mind that nothing was real, the ball couldn't hurt him, right?

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In the palm of Bill's hand, the tilting red and white object stopped moving, red light shutting down, relieving some of the man's worries. It nearly looked like Rick wouldn't let himself be captured, but he finally did. To be sincere, Bill wasn't pleased with this "capture" either, but it was needed. Traveling with an unregistered pokemon was out of the question, since nothing could prevent another trainer from throwing its own pokeball at Rick and capturing him, even if highly unlikely. He wouldn't have wanted to have him in a cage either, as he would have felt too guilty. Ultimately, the pokeball was the best compromise: he would be safe while having a place he where could enjoy himself. Placing the pokeball under his belt, Bill prepared his mind for one strange discussion with his friend Samuel. The reputed professor wouldn't take the matter lightly, with his implication in the project. It would be one mental brawl.

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Rick's spirit was still wandering aimlessly in a black void, but it wouldn't stay like this for long. As soon he had decided to let the ball do its job, a world begged to be created, to show its color, to become reality. Colors and forms emerged from the void, their sudden brightness blinding Rick, wherever his eyes where. They still didn't produce anything tangible thought, a reflection of the confusion that reigned over his mind. What did he want to see? His house? No... it would only sadden him further and gives him false hopes. His school? No... it would remind him how he landed in this situation. Ideas like those would lead him nowhere. And why would embarrass himself with things he would get back eventually? Still confused, another idea came to his mind. Instead of wishing for something he knew, why not take the opportunity to discover something new? He was a pikachu, right? Why not discover their home?

The change in color suddenly stopped, stabilizing in tones of green and brown. The bland forms deepened, turning into basic place surfaces, cylinders, cubes... which morphed again. Like a sculptor making his statues, the cylinders were crafted by invisible hands, their pick pressing against them, forming holes and depression on its surface, the bark of trees shaped while number color artists gave them their beauty with their numbered palette of a thousand brown, showing every subtlety those trees could offer. The plane surface standing below Rick was torn, folded and punctured, becoming dirt, tree trunks, pokemon burrows, leaves, grass; every features of a forest represented in its integrality, free of any flaw. The man couldn't keep his eyes away from this beauty, and it was attracting him, not only mentally. While the ground was reeling him in, he felt his spirit being constrained to something he couldn't define yet, but was plainly obvious. As this space was gaining an identity, he was gaining one too. Once again, he could feel his paws, his muzzle and his dull claws. The forest opened herself to him, giving away many scents and sensations, some friendly, some scaring. To Rick's dismay, the woods gradually lost its colors and its clarity as he gained _his_ body back, the sudden dullness of the place reminding him how poor a vision the pikachu have. This didn't save him from seeing the ground approaches at a furious pace, his body slamming into it, literally bringing him down to earth.

Surprisingly, he wasn't hurt from the fall. Even if he was apparently crashing into the dirt, he landed on his four paws, his body unharmed, ready to explore this forest, which he did without any second thought. In the real world, it would have been difficult for him to put one paw in front of the other without slipping, but here... his body was doing the job. Feeling his paws propelling his body deep inside the vast and unknown forest, Rick calmed himself and enjoyed the trip. Flowing between endless trees, he avoided everything in his path with a surprising agility. A rock? He could run around it. A tree trunk? He could jumps on it, checks if the road was clear before jumping down and run again. A puddle of water? He could stop nearly instantaneously, and drink a bit of it while he was as it. There was no word to explain how good he felt. He was free, an unstoppable bullet that could do everything he wanted. There was no boss no tell him what to do, no teacher giving him homework. His mother couldn't call him to ask him if he was ok and there no need to reply to her that she shouldn't worry until she saw him in the deceased people pages of the newspaper and then support her annoying lesson about being polite. It was like being at a party, a moment where only pleasure mattered. That's said, until the party crasher came, and, unfortunately for Rick, his next jump net him a meeting with him, as he collided into another furry body in a sharp turn around a tree.

Even the best intentions couldn't stop the inertia from doing its job. The other beast, immobile moment before, was slammed into the nearest tree, yelling from surprise and pain. From his side of the collision, Rick was stopped on the spot and pushed backward on his back, his paws clumsily swimming in the air. The other beast, apparently more experienced than him, recovered quickly and put one paw on Rick's belly, a dark smile on his yellow pikachu face. "Having fun, Sparktail?" he said, arrogantly pressuring the word "fun".

Rick's eyes narrowed at the sight of the familiar rodent. His paws moved furiously, clawing at this annoyance, but the other rat avoided them. His cheeks sparked, sending weak bolts on him, but the ingenious rodent had his own tail firmly dug into the ground, deflecting most of the electrons through it. He was trapped, and the other rodent knew it. He trashed some more, but the powerful beast wasn't intending on freeing him. Instead, he returned the deadly glare Rick was doing to him. "Are you finished now? Stop attacking me and I will let you go."

This rodent was dumb if he assumed Rick wouldn't try pouncing on him once he freed him. Rick smiled inwardly at this idiotic assumption. "Fine. Let me go now." The other pikachu agreed, slowly removing his paw from Rick's belly. Rick was about to roll on his side and hit the rat with his tail, when the paw returned, with even more pressure, just as he was leaning on his side. The rodent snickered, Rick narrowing his eyes again. "You think I would fall for a trick like that? You only want to pounce me back. You know, I could press harder..." he stated, his paw crushing Rick' abdomen, its abnormally sharp claws piercing through it. "...and cut the air of out of your body. I could then use my claws to cut your throat and watch you suffer in pain. And do you know what is the most wonderful in all this?" he asked coldly, Rick slightly shaking his head, his face paling. "I could do that over and over again... until we are free of this pokeball. Now..." he muttered, removing some pressure from his paw. "...will stop attacking me?"

The dominated pikachu whimpered, his eyes pleading to be released, tears forming in them. There was only instinct in that reaction, only the sheer fear of the other pikachu, the alpha male. How could one creature be so evil and where did it come from? He looked like your common pikachu, if you ignored abnormal characteristics like sharp claws, but inside him was planted the seed of evil, growing inside him, turning him into a monster who just threatened to kill him for fun and take pleasure from it. As he felt the pressure removed from his belly, Rick crawled on his back, as far he could from the beast, until a tree stopped him. Using its rough surface as a support, he gained a bipedal position, his back stuck on the tree, never leaving the pikachu out of his sight. The said pikachu simply laughed unemotionally at this instinctive display of fear. "Sparktail... you are truly pathetic. You will never do anything good with your life if you can't fight your fears. You hate me, right? You fear me? You wish I was away from here? Sorry, but you won't get rid of me so easily. Far from it..."

This name again: Sparktail. Rick face turned from fear to confusion from hearing it, then to anger. How dare he? Ignoring his fears, he returned on four paws and approached the evil pikachu menacingly, who didn't even move a hair as Rick stuck his muzzle mere millimeters away from his. "Will you stop calling me Sparktail? I have a name and it's RICK TORTOAS! And yes, I fear you! You are confusing! Who are you? Why are you taunting me? Don't you think my life is complicated enough like this without some hallucination making it even worse? Why don't you annoy someone else, like Bill? He deserved it for putting me into this ball." he screamed at the top of his lung, shutting off every noise the forest offered.

The same forest, in the following few seconds, saw two rivals staring at each other, in complete silence, to the point one would wonder if they were still alive. They still were, waiting for the other to make a move. A blow of foul breath on Rick's muzzle broke it, the other pikachu smirking at him as he did so. "You sure love to ask yourself questions. Why I'm giving you the name of a dead pikachu? Who I am? Why Bill did something so evil? Why is the sun yellow? Why are you annoying everyone with useless questions that doesn't require an answer? If you used your brain just a tiny bit more, you would find the answer to those. Until you do, I will continue to call you Sparktail, I will still _annoy_ you here. And I will do that until you understand by yourself that you shouldn't follow blindly the looks of things. If someone shows you a picture of a beach, would you think you are on a beach? Of course not. If I told you that the pokeball is a magical device that captures pokemon, you would show me the blueprints of it and explain to me exactly how it works. Now, you have another puzzle in front of you: yourself. What a wonderful one to solve! I hope you have fun with it. And that you will solve it soon... or else..." he finished openly. Laughing softly, he turned back from Rick and slowly made his way far from him, his body vanishing into the green vastness around them, as a ghost disappearing through a wall.

Rick blinked, the unusual leaving way for the pikachu giving a strange feeling of "This is not normal" to his mind. If it was not for those vague words freezing him, he would probably have tried to touch him again to see if he was real. While he didn't answer any of his questions, he indirectly solved another one: something was wrong with him. But what?

"Or else?" Rick screamed. "Or else what? What?" The other pikachu stopped, his head facing him as the forest took him away. "You will find out soon enough. Enjoy acting like a dumb animal." On those words, he was gone, leaving Rick to stare blankly at the spot where he stood before, his dark presence still haunting him. He would sure add this rodent on the list of things he hated. He despised his arrogant attitude, he hated his ability to counter everything he said, he absolutely scorned the way he annoyed and tortured him. But what he hated the most was how this pikachu reminded him of… him. He did tend to act like this when he was angry. Was that pikachu some kind of dark side? If so, he wouldn't turn out like this... no... He would fight with all he got... but he wouldn't be evil... neither would he act like an animal. What he just did, running in those virtual woods, enjoying himself in the simple pleasures of the pikachu life, he would have to resist doing that. Or at least try. It was not a human way to act. It was wrong. But how long would he be able to face the overcoming wave of instincts? That pikachu was right... he would find out soon.

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And he might sooner than he may think. While his universe inside the ball was an ever changing place, free of the time constraints of the real world, his pokeball was still a real object. A device now resting on the middle of Professor Oak's kitchen table, two pairs of eyes staring at it. After a long silence, Samuel, his hands resting near the ball, broke the ice with an unusual low voice. "So... if I understand what you told me. This... pokeball... contains a pikachu, which is proved by the ball's data. And... this... pikachu... is Rick Tortoas. And all of this happened because he entered your machine, which was not deactivated, and changed himself into a pikachu by what is presumed to be a mistake." he said matter-of-factly, while he scribbled some notes on a notepad. "You know Bill... you are my friend since I became your professor in your young years, and I always believed you to be the most promising student to ever grace my classroom. And you did great things. But this was before Rick came into my course. You knew how much faith I placed in him and yet, you didn't take every safety measure to ensure he would be fine. And now... that brilliant student is inside this pokeball... and you come here, nonchalantly, and hope I will forgive you that easily?"

Bill gulped. He knew Oak wouldn't be happy about this, but he was visibly enraged, through he was hiding it well, a talent he got with all those years doing those pokemon science shows on radio and television. The younger scientist was a bit worried about the ways his friend could use to make him pay. Despite Oak not being the style to seek out revenge, Bill was aware that he did cross some forbidden limits. Samuel wasn't a man to make use of violence, but he didn't need it to be a threat; he had power in both scientific and political spheres, and he knew how to make use of that power when he needed to. He was a good man, a good living, who was not easily angered, but when he was... "No, Samuel. You know me. I'm ready to pay for my mistakes, like always."

The professor seemed to be thinking while he tilted the ball with his hand. The tension rose in the room, its veil like a heat wave, making Bill sweat nervously. Tightening his grip on the ball, the old man finally spoke. "Good... because I'm ready to forgive you, since Rick is alright, or will be as soon I determine how human he is and what is needed to give him back what, I hope, he temporary lost." he said in a relaxed tone, to much of Bill's surprise, while taking the pokeball in his hand, rising from his chair. "I will give you a part of my research budget to help with the completion of the machine to change him back. If you need more resources, you know who to call. Now, if you excuse me Bill, I would ask you to leave my property. The task at hand will be a tough one that will require all my attention. You should return to your lab as quickly as possible. That invention won't complete itself." Hastily speaking, he showed Bill the way out of his house, hushing him out as politely he could.

Soon, Bill was walking away from the house, the professor standing in the doorway, wishing him a good trip back, with that smile too wide to be sincere. This was a strange behavior from the professor. Either he had been faking anger to confuse him as another of his bad practical joke (the professor is famous for those) or he is really angry and is trying his best to hide it. Either way, Bill had expected this trip being long enough to be worth it. If he knew the meeting would have been so short, he would have sent the ball by using his system and talked to the professor by videophone. Still, Bill greeted the older man back as walked away from his house, which was in the middle of his ranch. He had to admit, Oak was a lucky one. While he was surrounded by thousands of pokemon in data form, the old professor was surrounded by only hundred of them, of all types, but running freely around the mini environments made for them, most of them outside, when possible. Oak certainly never lacked of a pokemon to take care of. He envied him sometime. Maybe one day…

Once Bill was gone, Samuel looked sadly at Rick's pokeball, calming his anger. "I should have known it would have happened..."

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Now that this annoyance on four paws had removed all his will to run around like he did before, in fear of acting like a wild pikachu, Rick wondered what he could still do in here. His musing was interrupted by the rumbling of his belly, his attention pointing toward those delicious looking berries in a nearby tree. Like running before, it was very tempting. It was like each berry was staring at him with a "eat me" sign over them. Feeling the urge control him, he looked away from the fruits, grimacing. "No! I won't get those berries!"

As he talked, a loud crash was heard to his left. He only had the time to glance at a falling tree before his body instinctively jumped out of the way, the tree bark brushing the back of his tail. This was close. And closer he was now from the berry tree, only two feet from it now. Their scent caressed his nose, his paws shaking as he retained himself from scurrying to the tree and picking up some berries. "You won't win over me. If I say I won't get those, I won't!" The forest challenged him again, a strong wind suddenly blowing the fur of his face, the small tree bending from it, its fruits landing everywhere around the unlucky pikachu, some breaking on his paws, their juice sliding along his fingers, tickling his fur. Looking at the blue liquid, he observed in horror as his paw was moving by itself, trying to reach his mouth. Now he was convinced that, something, somewhere, wanted him to eat those berries. Something able to control this universe as much he could. He had a pretty good idea about what it was. And he wouldn't give in to it. He would show it who was leading here. Staring intently his paw, he struggled to stop it from acting against his will. He couldn't say now that he didn't know how it felt to be possessed by a ghost pokemon. His mind… it was hurting from this much concentration. He… couldn't... hold...

Suddenly... it stopped. Not only his paw, but his whole body too. All his senses but his sight stopped receiving information. Without his senses of smell and touch, the berries lost all interest to him. As also did the whole world around him. Not that it mattered much. As beautiful it was when it has been created, now it was melting away, the colors falling from the tree like if water was thrown on the paint that made them. The trees themselves seemed to implode, their matter compressed into nothingness, fading away like the fragments of imagination they were, returning to whatever memories created them. He won. He survived his first trip into one of those pokeball he hates so much. He survived his body's will to act like an animal. He won the first mental battle... with incredible good luck. Somehow, he doubted he would win the war... but at least, he now knew what he would have to fight. The question that remained, as the universe collapsed and his mind vanished into the void, was: How long would he keep the will to fight?


	5. Natural Prison

Mandatory apologies… err… I mean, Author Notes:

Well…I guess I don't take the matter of vacation lightly. What was supposed to be 3 weeks turned out to be 3 months and a half. I'm kind of feeling guilty here. To my own defense, I can say a lot happened in those three months. I got involved in a new project, I got to study, I got a crush and I think I got a cough at some point. But what really happened is that I got lazy, and I lost motivation to write this story. Time management kills me, because I suck at it. Also, I lost my passion for the pikachu's species, and lost confidence in my skills. But here I come, with both of those problems solved. I'm going to include my new favourite pokemon at some point, and I decided not to care about what some people I know might think about my work. I'm going to write for the fun of it. And if you are asking the question, yes, I will try to go back to constant updates, but I cannot promise anything. Time will tell. Well… so let see those reviews I got:

Kirby: Viva la Eevee, dear Kirby, Viva la Eevee… well… not really, but they've got to have some recognition. I'm happy to know that I inspired you somehow. Though, you are not the worse in the updating rate category anymore (guilty smile). I see you like apples… but I think your eevee self might like them more (wink). My chapter was epic? Hum… hum hummity hum… no… I don't remember it being so epic. I guess I will take this as a compliment, and store it in my happiness box. Have fun reading this chapter.

Twilight: Hum… I'm kind of split there. I could argue against the fact that I explored the pokeball, and rather say that I simply stated a few obvious things (to me), but I digress, this is not the time for an argument. I had enough lately as it is. I wanted to talk about more important subjects… like hearing that my story is one of the best piece of fanfiction you read this year. While this might not be true after so long, I thank you for the praise. My writing style is not so great really, and I'm lacking in a lot of departments. But I thank you anyway for how highly you think of my work, and I will continue to give my best.

Foxyjosh: Great review! Wow! This one was informative! I especially liked the word "Great", it was awe inspiring! And what to say about "chapter"… never I saw a so good use of a precise word saying exactly what you are talking about! And there was this "!"! Seriously, thank for the review anyway. It might not be much, but I think it sums up the essential of what is being said in the other reviews. I could have been mad for receiving something so short, but 2 words of praise is better than nothing, or a whole paragraph of bashing. So, I decided to be nice and do you a favor. We shall what it is all about later…

StormFang: Wooh… you nearly got me with the beginning of that review… I guess that's what I get for playing a joke myself. I will repeat it: I didn't put that much detail about the pokeball. Much more is left to be said, and most of it will probably stay in the shadows. Or inside my head. Or inside this cookie (eat cookie). Poor cookie… this is almost as sad as me not posting for so long. Worst of all, I made your review lie… and I hate lying. And olives, but that's another matter. I didn't feel pressured into writing it, but rather in NOT writing it. I blame laziness. But it will get better from now on, I prom… naw… I said I wouldn't make any promise. Hum… enjoy this chapter, and I hope it won't stink so bad.

Reeds: Ooooh… (pachi eyes sparking) A review with feelings! And emotions! Oh… thank, Reeds. I know it took you long before you got new content, and when I gave it, I was evil enough to cut it away from you. I feel bad… really bad. But it's nice to know you enjoyed it. And yes… that other pikachu is great. I love him/it! Not that kind of love, mind you. I'm not that crazy. Well… maybe I am, but that's beside the point. That's sad we won't see him/it for a while, but he/it will return when the time will be right. (look at watch) Which is not right now… too bad… But good characters are the best when used in good measure, something Sparktail haven't learned yet, Mr. I-am-in-more-RPs-than-everyone. I should teach the pikachu good manners, but I'm kind of busy. I guess it could be worse.

TigerPrime: Yay! My story is powerful! Whoot! Happy! (Sparktail knocks out my pachi side) Ok… what was I… yeah… I didn't really take time to think this up. I write as I go, and I hope what I write is not so bad. Sometime, I didn't get the right ideas, but you cannot blame me for not trying. And I'm not one to back up on something either… one of those day, I swear, there will be one bad chapter here, but not this new one, I hope. The fact that you can't wait is quite sad, since you waited exactly three months, if you are still here to read it. I feel kind of bad… wow… I wonder how many times I said it… I suppose I really mean it. Especially since this chapter is my shortest one yet. It doesn't help me to feel much better about it. I guess the new reviews will help… anyway, have fun reading it from now on, and welcome aboard!

End: hmm… now I'm kind of tired of replying… I can't wait to post this. Well, End, I already know that you think more than what you said about this chapter, so I won't repeat everything I said before (I don't even remember it) I will be short, and thank you for posting a review, even if you didn't feel like it. I admire this and I could learn a thing or two from this. I could… but… (look up a tree) ohhh! An apple! (run away)

Tyler T the pikafan: Hmm… pikafan… I could probably spend hours pondering if you read my story only for the pikachu, but… naww… I'm beyond such thing. So I will do you a favor, and talk about pikachu. Yea… pikachu is our favorite yellow little rodent, with his cute ears and his adorable tail. And the cheeks. But more importantly, pikachu are brave, and social and… well… lots of thing I'm not. That's why I like pachirisu better now. I fit more within their natural hyperness and innocence. But pikachu is still holding the second highest position, which is still an honor, as the 3th position is much, much farther away. And I shall continue to explore pikachu in more unique ways other did, and this is a true promise! But, be warned, this means it won't be all happy all the time… a good dose of morals and problems is needed sometime. Poor chu…

MTG: You didn't review, but you deserve a mention, because I know you will read this. Thank for… simply being there. You might be a bit crazy, but that's funny. And I know what I'm talking about, I'm crazy myself. I won't even feel bad because you didn't review after I asked you like… a few times. I know you enjoyed the story, and hate cliffhangers, but I included something in this chapter that you will like, as it was more or less on your request. But there is maybe another cliffhanger at the end of this, but you are kind of lucky, because you know what will happen. Or maybe you don't… hehehe… (evil laugh)

Phew… this was long, and took 90 minutes, but I'm ready to post now. So… even if, like I said in the replies, this chapter is my shortest yet, I hope you enjoy it. And please review, if you feel like it. Feel free to ask questions about anything you don't understand, I love the challenge of answering them.

Chapter 5: Natural prison

Maybe Rick wouldn't know how long he could fight the instincts or if this question even had to be asked, but this didn't really matter. There were things far more important that would take much of his mind. He wasn't yet aware of this, but there was no way around them, as his pokeball hits the top of a table, engaging the unstoppable procedure that was about pull him into a world infinitely more dangerous than his current cell.

In the mist of one short moment, darkness unleashed its veil, as atoms formed from primitive energy, joining together to form molecules, then cells, organs and ultimately a whole body, in a impressive synchronization calculated inside the small, but yet powerful computer system of the pokeball. One additional jolt of energy, and this body took life, blood flowing to its deepest corners thanks to the inexhaustible heart, oxygen burning inside the cells, continuing the circle of life where it had left. Since running for his life was the last thing Rick was doing before being captured, he spawned in that position, oblivious to the fact that he was now on a table. A table that ceased to exist within half a second, lacking the necessary length to provide a running surface for the panicked chu, who soon found himself kissing the floor. A rude entrance into the real world indeed, but it did its work.

"Ow! Damn it!" he screamed furiously while squirming on the polished wooden surface. As much moving was easy in the ball, it proved to still be a horror to control here, his paws sliding endlessly in a fight to gain control over the floor. This control, however, as he finally got back on all fours, he lost it quickly. Before he was allowed to a make a move, something took a solid grip on his back, squeezing him back to the floor, and forced a soft white wall over his face. A strong, nasty scent emanated from it, itching his nose, warning him of an imminent danger. No squirming or uncontrolled shocking was able to remove it, though, those getting weaker as his muscles went numb and his awareness diminished. The poison crept through into his bloodstream, forcing his conscious into oblivion again…Time passed, becoming meaningless, minutes and hours only the ghosts of a moment, while the chemicals inflicted their effects, keeping the pikachu unconscious. As with everything, this eventually came to an end and consciousness steadily emerged from its forced cell. Rick stirred in his current position; his nose, ears and sensitive areas of his paws working together to get a first idea of this potentially new and dangerous environment. No scaring sounds: good. No suspicious and threatening smells of predators: good. Sleeping on a soft surface: still good. The first taste of this place pointing to a safe location, the instincts took a backseat, the much more advanced human mind of Rick back in control again, conscious, but yet oblivious to any of the conclusions his brain came to, as he simply swayed them away, keeping only the feeling of safeness. After all, there is no place for animal instincts in this mind of his, only logic and knowledge.

Rising on four paws, he groggily blinked a few times, in an effort of discerning anything important in the strong light blinding him. Light soon lessened, as his eyes adjusted themselves to the lighting of the room, the blurry shapes of vertical lines appearing in front of him, blocking the light from reaching him. Those lines, arranged in a regular pattern, all appeared to be of the same size and separated by roughly the same distance. With his sight sharpening even more, those lines gained a faint metallic reflective texture and a round, cylindrical form.

Those lines… he had seen them before. The knowledge about where he had and what they are still missed from his mind, but maybe a closer inspection could reveal those secrets. Eagerly pushing himself on two legs, he discovered that the truth was closer than he thought when he felt a hard pain on his head, a small bump swelling on it. "Ow!" the small rodent screamed in surprise, bending back on four paws and crouching flat on the soft surface, which seemed to be made of some tissue. 'What was that?' asked his mind, already thinking of the possible predators that could have hurt him like that, and looking for a way to escape it, thought he had no plan to do so. Fighting the fear of meeting with this menace from above, Rick rolled on his back, looking unconfidently at the sky, only to meet more of those metallic lines, still ordered, covering the sky. Sighing, he looked all around him and saw more of those lines, covering every side of him, and standing as a wall between him and his freedom. Suddenly, those lines gained a meaning and a name, although he would have hoped for a better one: they are metallic bars, those of a cage!

Jerking back, his mind swung between the opposite views he had about this. One side of him told him that the cold, unfamiliar setting of a cage was not suited for a human being, neither was the way he was brought here, if his theory about what happened what right. And yet, those wild thoughts were telling about how safe he was in there. This was no lie, however. Beside the protection the bars offered against creatures bigger than him and obviously unable to open the cage, he saw a small bowl filled with water and one with pellets of what he supposed to be food. Combined with the towel he was sleeping on and the little red ball sitting in one corner of the cage, he had everything to live in what this part of his mind called a portable nest. Crawling to this source of nutrition, he lapped his tongue inside the bowl of water, the refreshing liquid sliding inside his mouth, wetting and cooling it, before he swallowed it down. He had to admit, for water, it tasted damn good. It was like drinking his favorite soda; he wanted more. He lapped more and more of the water in, shamelessly drinking it all. His thirst contented, he glanced at the pellets of food, his face frowning. He might have the body of a mouse, but he wasn't about to eat like them. This was a limit he wouldn't cross. Not that his choice mattered, with the sudden appearance of something new in the room. His ears picking up the sound of something huge falling on his right, priorities switched in his brain, to one command: Flee! Run away from the threat!

Turning left, he met with the bars, preventing his escape. Trapped, he shifted to his second option: Fight. The noises echoed again, getting closer and closer, at a regular pace. It then stopped, a dreaded shadow looming over the nervous pikachu, whose cheeks sparked. Those sparks, instead of bouncing between his cheeks like they should, were absorbed by the metal bars, the cage emitting a sudden humming. Would have it been only him, he would have stopped and pondered about the origin of that disturbing sound, but this sound looked more like another threat right now, forcing him to act quickly and release the flow of electricity toward the shadow, a mistake he could have prevented. As soon the electrons came out of him, they were immediately attracted by the bars, like the sparks before, and flowed inside them until they reached their new target: an energy accumulator. It acted like a battery you charged, but when you stopped charging it, the electricity was thrown back to the sender, in a much shorter and intense beam. The humming became louder and louder, ended by a deafening crackling, resulting in one burned rodent panting on the floor of the cage, ranting about his own foolishness, the shadow still towering over him, unfazed by his little show of blatant ignorance. At the end of this shadow was a human, who sat on a chair and stared at him. After a long silence, the man spoke: "I see that you are quite grumpy when you wake up, Rick. It was a good idea to put you inside this anti-shock cage" he stated, almost half laughingly.

Hearing his name, Rick approached the border of the cage, returning the man's stare, his own a lot more confused, his face torn from hiding his instinctive fear and his pain. Who was this human? His first answer would have been Bill, but the voice was too deep and the scent too different. Digging into the memories of the recent events, another name came to his mind. Oak. Bill must have dropped him at his ranch and left, like he told him. Indeed, this man was Samuel Oak, looking rather unpleased by the rodent behavior. "Rick, Rick, Rick… you are a not making our life easy, you know that? With your current condition, you are putting us in quite a predicament. As you might imagine, I never tried to keep a human mind intact inside the mind of a rodent. However, I know what your body and your mind need to stay sane. I'm going to give you what a pikachu need the most. I think you know what it is, don't you, Rick?" the man asked, to which Rick replied to with a nod.

He knew too much what was needed; he shuddered only to think of it. Sure, there was the need of eating, drinking and having a nest, but none of those can be normally satisfied without another key element. Pikachu, being a small rodent at the bottom of the food chain, cannot survive long in the wild, where everything is a potential danger. It would need something to increase its size, which is not possible, so it artificially increases it by seeking to join a group of member of its species, called a clan, of about 20-50 individuals, in a simple organized system increasing their chance of survival. If Oak had anything to give him, it could only be that. He hated companionship more than anything else, at least with others humans; and he didn't doubt that it would be the same with those pokemon, now that he was one of them.

Deceived, the former human sunk into the depths of the cage, his tail bumping on the round ball, on which he took a quick glance at. Instinctively, he held onto it, the ball rolling left and right as Oak picked up cage, shaking it uncomfortably as he brought it outside, making Rick feel sick each time the man took a step and balanced the cage forward and backward like a ship on a stormy sea, and bringing it to what would be a shipwreck once they would reach their intended destination.. Lasting only one minute, this trip into the unknown have seemed to be long and stressful hours, even more as the comforting and modern insides of a house was replaced by never-ending wilderness, its unwelcoming scents forcing their way into his nose, more as time fled behind him. This time came to an end, Rick's new "home" now fully into view. It was a fairly large square enclosure, about 30 feet on each side and 4 feet high, delimited by a thick wire fence, covering all sides and the roof of it, much like his current cage. Protected enough to make him feel safe, if it wasn't for the setting inside this new place. In deep contrast of the open view of his dream forest, this enclosure was mostly filled with high herbs, easily towering over him. It didn't require deep thinking to understand that he would be as safe in there than in a hole surrounded by ekans. Shivering at the idea of walking into that place, fearing even those plants dancing in the wind, the small rodent didn't take notice of the professor locking the side of his cage into one of the enclosure's adapted opening, nor he noticed him opening the way into this death trap, until he felt a cold stick poking him in the back, irritating him to the point he had no choice but to crawl toward the exit on two feet, his front paws still hugging the ball tightly, calming him somewhat, if just in good amount to prevent panic from drowning his eyes in tears.

However, as soon he met with the ground, all those worries melted away. Soft is how Rick could describe the ground he set foot on once out of the cage. Not too rocky to be painful to walk on, nor too grassy to be slippery, this terrain offered just enough grip and comfort to allow for a good running speed, even short sprints, without any risk of hurting himself in the process or injuring his sensible pads on something sharp spurting from it. It was perfect… for his body. His mind couldn't care less for this kind of comfort. What would it be worth for anyway? Running fast and safely was a huge advantage, if he was in a clearing. But here? In this closed area, surrounded by green death traps? What good was there to run at max speed when you don't see where you are heading? He could as well escape from a predator to run into another one. It would be an endless circle that would ultimately lead to his demise. All wasn't black, thought. As this place could hide predators, it might also provide hiding places for him to hide. Maybe some place to dig a hole in the ground, since the surface also seemed ideal for this kind of survival activity. Maybe…

Lost in the middle of the many interpretations his body perceived from this new habitat, he wasn't even sure what to think. Should he consider this place a holy paradise or living hell? It had potential to be both, but realistically, only one possibility was truth. And logically, at least for the instinctive mind of the pikachu slowly creeping over his own, the latter choice was the one to envision. It was already telling him what to do to escape this fate. But no… he wouldn't follow those; this was not a proper way to act! He would get out of here, comfortable ground or not!

Displaying a pleading stare, he looked back at the old professor, hoping to get a last change of mind from the brilliant human. The man glanced at him for a few seconds, his head titled to the side, a clear sign that he was still pondering over his decision. Alas, Rick's bubble of hope popped as quickly as it was blown. Despite his profound reflection, the aged man still took the cage out of the hatch, one hand waving at Rick, almost tauntingly. The hatch, holding on nothing but thin air, closed, sealing the pikachu and any hope of escape inside. Straightening, cage in hand, the man let out a last smile before turning around. He took his leave on a slow, unconcerned pace, stared at by the cold, unforgiving glare of the trapped pikachu. What was he playing at? Wasn't he supposed to help him? With questions like this rolling down his endless pit of confusion, the former human looked at the sky, feeling so betrayed, and so close to freedom. It laid only inches from his paws, rubbing its face on the other of the metallic wires. It was so unfair! Oak was supposed to be the solution to his adaptation dilemma, not the cause of one more! Nothing made sense! Absolutely nothing! Oak… he was not like this! That's not how he remembered him! Granted, it kind of felt like his human memories were currently drifting away on a boat in the middle of the ocean, losing its supply with the rocking of intense storms, but he could still remember Oak… mostly. Oak was a human… someone big and… nice… he could pet… give food… and…

Rick frowned… this description didn't make any sense! Oak wasn't there only to take care of pokemon! He did others things like playing around his lab to do… stuff… and talking to others humans about… important things… and this have something to do with him. The human could do something to help him… and, unless he missed something, this enclosure was the last thing he considered a solution. If anything, it was a double lock to a safe keeping his sanity. He just didn't want to be here! Was it that hard to understand?

Increasingly confused, his eyes narrowing, he crouched, his feet tensing, his muscles accumulating potential energy. Releasing the energy in one intense burst, he bounced like a spring, ready to meet and demolish his newfound enemy in those inert pieces of iron. It was an interesting confrontation, one of might and courage, but, as one would expect, even the strongest fly wouldn't kill a frog. On a positive note, he did demolish something: his pride, his confidence, his hopes… and his forehead, which bled a bit on contact. On the other paw, the wires didn't even get the smallest dent or the tiniest weakness. They still stood solid, impassable frontier towering over the meager body of the rodent. His body bounced against the solid surface, landing with a thud on a ground still so soft and perfect. Feeling dizzy and tired, he lazily rested his nose on a small square hole in the fence, his eyes half closed, sighing sadly. Now, he truly didn't felt like playing. He had lost… there was no way to get out of here. And most saddening thing wasn't really because his failure made him lost the little remains of hope he had, but was that, the more he thought about it, the less those feelings seemed to matter. He wasn't even sure if he had to be sad about his failure or the about injury it caused. Since he wasn't getting a definitive answer about that anytime soon, he closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pitiful position he was in, both physically and mentally.

With his view hidden behind the black wall, Rick let his mind wander aimlessly, listening to the flow of emotions coming from inside him. Rage and insecurity shown him many nasty images, many for which words wouldn't suffice to describe the horrors they were displaying, the pain and the fear they inspired. Breathing slowly and deeply, he absorbed the images he created, took a 'look' at them, and threw them away. As it seemed, his pikachu mind had no use for such worries. The images soon became more peaceful, fed by all the ambient sounds. His visions of being attacked by predators, of being trapped in this cage, of losing his mind, they became endless fields. The wind was running on his fur, the sun high in the sky, the field green and calm. And he wasn't only alone to enjoy this. Yellow creatures ran everywhere, playing, laughing, eating and sleeping.

This vision, of a paradise it was, became sharper and clearer as his body relaxed, all his others senses working together, gathering what they could from the soft touch of the ground, the caress of the wind, the music of a forest not far away, the delicate odors of flowers and other vegetation, building the logical and undeniable proof that he was perfectly safe where he stood. This vision, as false it was, brought Rick to a level of relaxation he hardly he felt before. Right now, there was no reason to be angered because of a wall. It was only a wall. The pikachu running around him were much more important. Potential friends, mates, protectors, helpers to get more food, children, all unique and important they were. And an elder watching over all of them. A group, an identity, a society. A goal.

As he watched the images, the former man wondered how it would be to actually be with them, and to have fun. It seemed simple, almost childish, but wasn't he happier when he was a child? This question brought a wind of change, the field vanishing from view, replaced by a much more blurry scene of a child playing with a few pokemon dolls. He knew this human child… a child with nothing to take care of, nothing but its games and friends. Like those pikachu, the human child was happy. Maybe not living a perfect life, but happier than he was right now. Maybe, just maybe, he could look around and try it. What did he have to lose?

Slowly opening his eyes, the mouse stared at the other side of the grey bars, at the world behind them. Trees, grass, other enclosures were about everything he could distinguish. Nothing worth getting excited over. Taking a few seconds to sway the tiredness away (he had to admit that this body was pretty good at relaxing), he rose on his paws. Again, he could feel a pulse on his forehead, an artifact of his useless escape attempt. Which was, all things considered, not the best idea he could have come up with? Digging a tunnel or shocking the wires would have been much better, if only he was able to perform those efficiently. Turning around, he examined his new home from this low position. At first glance, it was still mostly covered in long grass, but not as dense as he first saw it. The vegetation towered over twice his height, but among it, large passageways made navigation less of a hurdle. Large compared to him, of course, since the clear way was barely larger than him.

Feeling curious suddenly, and looking for anything that may help him forget about where he was, he entered the path, marching stealthy, looking for any treasure it might hide. There has to be some, as he could smell food close. It wasn't the enticing scent of an apple, but it didn't smelt like poisonous berries either. Tracing the origin of the food, he found a breach in the green wall. At this location, something had squashed (and eaten, from the look of it) the grass, digging its way into the vegetation. Inside the grassy cave was the food he was looking for, and no one was home. "Perfect", he muttered silently. Such a delicious opportunity offered to him that he wouldn't miss. He would just get a little taste, only to try. No big crime. He doubted that the former habitant was around anymore… he would have smelled it… probably…

Slyly entering the improvised cache, making sure he was not seen, the thief mouse got closer to the food. Each step into the hole made the grass under him crack loudly, as if something was hidden under it. Something so noisy didn't mean anything good, as it could be a trap. But… nope… he wouldn't flee, not when food was within reach. Speaking of food, what he found was not that bad either. There were a few seeds, and some pellets of an unknown nature. They looked kind of brownish, but there no way to know, with a vision as poor as his. Already knowing what seeds were supposed to taste like, this new kind of food had something… exotic about it. Granted, they were not much different from the pellets he saw before, but now he was hungry. Tilting his body forward, he took one of those into his mouth, covering it in saliva, looking for its hidden flavor. He found it pretty fast, and as soon he did, the round piece of food took a one-way trip outside, rolling back with the others. "What is that thing? It tastes so bad! Eww! Stupid pellet!" he shouted, still tasting the flavor the foul thing, a taste he could vaguely associate with meat. Without any more delay, he dug into the pile of seeds next to the pellets, downing them in a rush to cover the horrible taste of that saliva-covered pellet.

Hearing a low rumbling coming from his stomach, a clear signal that he was hungry, he decided against his original plan and ate all the seeds. As he gulped down the last one, he heard another rumble, this one much deeper and loud. This was getting quite annoying now. "Hey! I fed you already… what is your…" He was cut off by another low rumble. This time, he was utterly convinced it was not coming from his stomach. It was too loud… and the room was too dark all of a sudden… and the air seemed to burn around him… and there was an intimidating gist about all this. Peeking behind him, his fears materialized, as he was greeted with the shadow of a large creature. "Ahhhh!!!" he screamed, sheer panic pumping into his mind.

He needed to flee, right now! He had no idea what to do, but his body did. Feeling his cheeks tense, he released a few jolts around the grass hole, dug his paws forward and dashed into the long grass. Grass, grass and more grass; that's all he could see as he painfully made his way into the high herbs. He had a head start over the monster, but it didn't take long before he felt movement behind him. It was getting closer! Pushing himself to the limit, he ran faster, but it was short lived. One of his paws got caught into on rock hidden among the grasses, tripping him over. Soon the shadow was over him again. Lying in the grass, the rodent could smell the creature hot breath on him. He could almost taste the saliva that would drop over him as the creature would decide which part of him to eat first. Whimpering softly, he waited for the pain that would soon ensue, hoping his death would come quick.


	6. Unlikely Friendship

Author note: Yep... it's me again! There was not 3 months of wait, this time. Hooray! (Do a party)

Ok... back to serious matters... temporarily. I want to say sorry to everyone for last chapter. I was eager to post it, and really put grammar correction as a second priority (I only spent 45 minutes revising my chapter). This time, I spent 3-4 hours revising it, making sure it was up to what it is supposed to be. Also, as I said in chapter 1, my first language is not English (It's French), and maybe I use words that are over my level of knowledge. As of now, I will try to use English more to my level. If, for some reason, some of you think that there is still too much grammar mistakes, or that the level of English is too low, I will ask someone to proofread my chapters and improve them. As to who, I have a few choices, but we shall see later, if this chapter, or the following aren't meeting expectations. However, in the meantime, I might need someone to help me revising my previous chapters, so they are grammar mistake free. Send me an e-mail if you want to help.

Now... this chapter came after 4 days of intense writing. Only 4. But this is special, because I felt sorry for you all, who had to wait during 3 months. As of now, I choose a 2 weeks updating schedule, which mean I have 14 days to write a chapter, which won't take me more than 60 minutes a day, and I can do more on weekend... it should be easy to maintain. And this time, this is a promise... one chapter every 2 weeks... if I don't, feel free to send me hate mail.

Finally... the review response section. There was too few this time, but... oh well... who care? I shall make those response longer, especially Tyler's one (I have a lot to say).

Kirby: Cliffhanger... hmm... maybe it wasn't that much of a cliffhanger. I guess I suck at making cliffhanger. (Look at future ideas) Maybe not... anyway... Sammy is evil? I was convinced the old guy was the nicest guy ever, loving, caring, and with white hair. I guess leaving Rick in a field would not be a good idea, but his field is more like a cage. Nothing can get in, and nothing can get out. I doubt he is in danger... well... I doubted it, but apparently, he is chased by something right now. I hope he is alright.  
PS: This chapter is longer... which is good... or bad... or apple...  
Sparktail: I wuv apples!  
I know that…

Foxyjosh: And I can say I am honored to receive this review. It was better than the last one. Cheer! (Go back to partying) Ok... like I said, maybe the content was better, since there were more new actions that happened, but the grammar was poor apparently. I don't know if you will like this chapter, because not much happen... but... well... you never know... (evil wink)

Tyler T: Where to start...hum... what about going in order of the points mentioned?

1. Yes... this chapter was short... but it was intended. When I reached my minimum word count (4000), I saw that the actions was reaching a point where it would have been hard to cut, and the chapter would have been 6000-7000 words long, which is too much. So I had to make the chapter shorter. But fear no more! This chapter is 5135 words long, making it the second longest one. So yeah.

2. Rick... controlled by this instincts? Won the fight? I think we didn't read the same chapter. Here's a quote, from chapter 4: "He won the first mental battle... with incredible good luck." Luck is the key word here. He won, but only because he was forced to leave the pokeball. He was losing the fight... he had been saved by the clock, to put it simply. About for his apparent dehumanification, yes... he kind of lost it... but don't worry... there is lot of things to be told. Right now, the unknown is kind of making him hide behind his instincts, but as you will see later, it won't stay like this. Right now, you have to deal with that.

3. Grammar... I talked about this point already... there is nothing more to tell. Well... nothing other that you are on the list of people which could get the proofreading job. We shall see later.

4. 1. Ok... this is what I meant by using words I'm not comfortable with. In French, a "beam" of electricity is something valid to say. So there...I will try to be more careful from now on, but I'm not perfect. 2. "Us"... yes... I was vague on purpose there. "Us", at this point, is not meant to be obvious. The title is not Sparking Chaos for fun... it have a meaning. Things might get chaotic later... both in Rick mind and around him. Things like that, or as why some character did this or that, will be clearer later, as things are revealed. My reference is the real world, and the real world is much more complicated that the pokemon world shown in the anime or games. Things are not always as they seem.

3. Like my last point, I use real world as a reference. The pokeball functionality is to turn every atom of a body into energy, categorize what was linked with what, so the body can be reformed. If Rick was running, there would be lot of activity in the muscular cells, and some part of the body would be changed to adapt to the activity. If he is captured as this happen, the "snapshot" of the atomic structure is the one in his cells at the current moment. Imagine this: You want to reform the pokemon in a relaxed pose. Good. Now you need a standard template of atomic arrangement of a relaxed pose for every possible pokemon. One arrangement is a lot to store in memory, but more than 500 (More realistically, it would probably be thousands)? Impossible!

And let suppose this was possible. You have all the atoms making Rick's pikachu body, and you have to try to fit them in the standard template for a pikachu of his size. However, you have a lot of additional atoms, which entered the body as to help to accomplish the activity, and aren't needed. What are you going to do with those? 1. Try to fit them somewhere in the body: You might kill the pokemon. 2. Try to release them in the air: Really? Tons of atoms of different kind all in the same place... lot of strange molecules and chemical things could be created. 3. Keep them inside the ball: Maybe, but all those residual bit of energy will take place, and maybe, one day, after many use, there won't be enough place for a real pokemon, and it might not take one fully in the ball, thus killing it. Worse… was if there is not enough molecules to make the normal template? What if the pokemon is missing a leg? Not to say of all the possible changes that could happen to the brain. The pokemon could come out and not be the same in its head. 

When I se a problem like this one, I say to myself that the easiest and simpler solution is always the best. As a software engineering student, I know what I am talking about. You don't mess around with technologies and things you don't know, you try to tame them, and then use their potential. The pokeball (and many others things in the story) are the same thing. I see them as software. I know what they can and cannot do, then work around the problem. Keep this in mind when seeing things that might go against the official pokemon material.

This was long... well... I just see that you like my "use of adjectives and sentence formation"... oops... I hope this chapter is not too simple... oh well... To conclude this, I know the power of the Pikachu side. Pachi and pikachu are still fighting for the number one spot, and Pika is gaining an edge, since I'm writing more often lately... and I think this story is mainly about pikachu(s), so... I wonder who in the end will have the number one spot.

Phew... now I'm done... I told you that I had a lot to say to Tyler T. Let's start the actual chapter now:

Chapter 6: Unlikely Friendship

Rick just couldn't believe it! All the time it took him to finally decide to get some courage and to explore this unknown environment, all the nerve it took him to enter into this hole of grass… all of this was going to waste! He should just have turned back when he heard the sound under his feet as he entered the small cache! He should have! How did hunger become so important to him, to make him miss a trap so obvious?

Now that his brain switched to panic mode, he had to admit that eating a few seeds was something pretty stupid, especially in a situation like this one. He should have taken some in his mouth and returned to where he was before, to a safe spot where nothing had bothered him during the whole time he was there. It was the obvious thing to do! Why didn't he… bah… only one more bad decision on the top of a dozen ones, all that bad. Obviously, this one was here to end them all.

His instincts couldn't agree more with him. To them, it was already too late: there was no escape route, his legs were bruised from the fall and the predator had already caught him. Only one solution remained, and it was more of a last resort tactic than anything else. He spread electricity all around his body, hoping that it would deter the creature from biting into him. Now, the trickiest part of it was to wait until the predator tried to bite, and, hopefully, his neck won't be the target. If it was to be…

Predictable enough, the wait didn't last long, but what happened wasn't so obvious to guess. Confused, the larger creature lowered herself, looking down at the funny little rodent whimpering in terror in front of her, a frown on her face. This was a rather unusual situation. For a moment, the creature pondered about the reasons that could explain why the mouse fled away from her. To her knowledge, she had done nothing that would usually scare a pokemon smaller than her, and she hadn't heard any scary sound either. This behavior from the small rodent was strange, sure, but, fortunately, she knew a way around that. After she dropped, near Rick's muzzle, the small object she was holding in her jaws, she placed her head near the rodent's side and tried to lick its back, knowing that it would make it relax. To her surprise, as soon she made contact with yellow fur, a stinging sensation appeared on her tongue, making her back away and growl, more in surprise than in pain.

From his position, Rick couldn't help but smile inwardly. The plan was working! The predator tried to attack him, and it got hurt! Well… the predator tried some kind of attack. He had no idea what it was supposed to be, but, who cares? He prevented it, and it seemed that the predator was backing off! Expecting it to leave soon, he focused his mind on two things that caught his attention during the whole ordeal. First, he clearly heard someone scream "Hey!" in an annoyed, high-pitched voice. Was someone around, watching him being chased and preyed on? Since the voice probably belonged to a female, it couldn't be Oak or Bill. But then… who was it? Why wasn't that human scaring the pokemon with its loud human voice and helping him?

Worried, he opened his eyes to look around, but nothing could be seen through the grass. Though, even without the grass standing like a green wall, it would have been hard for him to see anything, for something was blocking half his view, something that left him perplexed. Right in front of his muzzle, laid a round and manmade object, looking pretty much like… a ball? From the look of it, it was the same one he was holding in his paws when he left the cage. How did that end up here? It couldn't be the same one, could it? Such anomaly brought to his mind the other strange thing he noticed during the attack: he heard and felt something falls and bounces near him. It could have been his ball moving around, but something would have had to make it move, and it was very unlikely that the predator had done that. Predators don't play, they hurt and kill! It couldn't have… unless…

"Is there another pokemon around? I'm being attacked by a monster! Help me! Help me!" Rick screamed as loud his voice allowed him, not caring for subtlety. Something else was around, and it would save him! "Help!!!"

The call for help made the large female pokemon stop moving, just as she was about to lick the mouse again, determined to make it feel better. This pokemon needed help! Help with... a monster? Not good! She looked around nervously, over the grass and beyond the wall-you-can-see-through, but she didn't see any monster, or anything for that matter. It relieved her somewhat, but she wasn't out of trouble with the mouse yet. This little pokemon that gives pain was definitely the strangest thing she ever saw. Its voice told her something, though: it was a male. "Help?" she asked softly, but confidently. "No monster here!" she stated, getting closer to him, but staying far enough so she couldn't touch him. She was not getting hurt again.

Noticing that the scent of the monster was getting stronger once again, Rick closed his eyes and listened closely to the loud female voice nearby. This voice just…didn't make any sense! How could this person not see the monster? This was not something you see everyday! Or smell and hear, in his case. He could easily imagine the pointy teeth wanting to rip him to pieces, the claws waiting to cut through his flesh… and a lot of others things that could hurt him. Whoever she was, this human was either dumb or evil, probably both. Letting a poor pokemon die was pure evilness. He felt like puking at the thought. "That's it! Whoever you are, human, you are stupid! Just… help me and stop saying nonsense!" he screamed angrily, which made the pokemon back away again.

This time, it was her turn to be confused. There was nothing wrong with thinking that there is a monster around, there is always monsters around. But a human? Talking? Here? This was beyond any logic that the pokemon could understand. Humans make sounds that are so different from their own… she couldn't imagine one moment how it was possible for this mouse to think he was hearing a human talking. This was simply impossible. And the way he talked about humans… it sounded like he was angry at them. This, again, didn't compute. Like there was no reason to think a human was here, talking, there was no reason to be angry at them. Hearing this pokemon talking about them so negatively made her a bit sad and frustrated. The rodent was so confusing and irritating. Anything she said to be nice, it made him meaner. She would never get to play with him… was there a way to make him happy? There was none, it seemed. "No human here… only me! And you are not nice, mouse!" she said, her voice a bit shaky. Unfortunately, her words never reached the mouse. As she talked, the air around her became warmer, almost hot, reflecting her frustration. And this, Rick hasn't missed it.

The change in temperature was small, but so sudden that it felt like the pikachu's brain was being overrun by warnings. There was no mistake here: the pokemon was getting ready to attack again, and with fire! Time was too short for him to run, and he didn't feel like he had the energy and the will to run again anyway. Time wasn't so short that he had no option left, though. A quick movement could probably give him more time. The only movement coming to his mind at the moment was dodging, by rolling to the side. Throwing himself on his left, quickly pushing his body off the ground with the three paws that weren't stuck in the grass, he turned on his back, facing the sky. That was where he saw it.

One time and a half his height, the creature was quite large, from his perspective. Standing on four paws, the monster's shapes had a fox-like feeling to them. The color of its fur was similar to the ball's one, only lighter, though it was darker close to its paws. The most prominent feature of the creature was its tails. There were many of them, so many, in fact, that he didn't bother to count them. He knew this pokemon… it was among his favorite ones, one of the few pokemon he could remember seeing for real, when he was much bigger: a vulpix. Normally, he would have trusted a vulpix… they are loyal and generally quite tame. But if you were to suddenly find yourself on its menu with no way to tell if it is trained or wild, it's likely that you would think a bit differently. Any good memory he had of them, he had to ignore. The only thing that mattered now was to get out of its grasp. Even if the fox was smiling at… wait… it was smiling?

Taking a second glance at it, he saw a small, hesitant smile on the fox's face. Why was it smiling? He might not has been a psychology expert, but you don't usually smile when you are about to kill, unless you are evil. And as much he knew, pokemon aren't evil. Maybe they are a bit too much dependent on their instincts, but it's not being evil. Evilness was something left to some humans, not the innocent pokemon. Nonetheless, something was just plain weird about this smile. Since the smile calmed him and made him feel more comfortable, he would have asked it the reason of this strange choice of facial expression, if only pokemon could talk. About talking… there was still no trace of a human around. Where did that voice come from?

Seeing that the rodent was finally looking at her, the vixen sat and smiled at him, the heat around her vanishing. He was giving her a strange stare, but she didn't bother with it, since he was not showing any intend to attack. This change in behavior could even mean he was ready to play now! "Hey! You ok now? No human and monster here!"

Rick gasped. He could ignore the voice and the happy tone of it, but he couldn't ignore those lips! They moved at the same time that the voice was heard! It wasn't possible! Pokemon don't… they don't talk! Not like this! They talk with sounds, and the tone of those sounds conveys their meaning. There isn't any word involved, at least, not according to what a word is. A pokemon talking using words is like a forest without an apple tree. It simply doesn't exist! And yet… he just heard this one here talk. And it (or she, it seemed), talked with a voice so soft, without any sign of anger or desire to hurt. Nonsense! It's a predator! Predators are not nice!

Both his human and pikachu side were silenced at the same time, having nothing to explain this. Ironically, each half had the answer to the other's question, but confusion was too intense right now for the ideas to mix. A non-predatory talking vulpix! Now he had seen it all!

Confused, the pikachu looked down, unsure of his next action. The vulpix was still near, and still a danger, but this one didn't seem to have any mean intentions. Usually, it would have been the moment to flee, taking the opportunity the predator gave by letting its guard down, to get to safety. This time, though, his growing curiosity about the strange pokemon compelled him to stay. It was not every day that you have the chance to talk with a pokemon. If this wasn't only part of some dream, he would be doing something unique that have filled his imagination for so long. He had so many questions to ask, but so few that came to his mind. Stuck, he looked more confidently at the fox than ever before, looking for answers that would at least repress his instinctive worries. "No monster? But you are... a fox! That's... scary... what..." he struggled to say, searching for the right question. "You... err... why aren't you attacking me?"

The vixen let the question sink in, almost looking down sadly at the assumptions he told her. She was scary? That's not how the humans taught her to be. She met a lot of pokemon before, but few said she was scary. She had met scary pokemon, like those in the great green, but she was not one of them. And... attacking him? This was not something to do. The humans said it was bad. It was bad. Why would she attack him? He had attacked her, but not hard enough to deserve to be attacked back, though she didn't forget about how mean it was. She didn't want to attack him either, to begin with. Attacking is something the bad pokemon do, the bad ones that can't wait for the humans to give food. She was no bad either. She was good, and she had to show the pokemon she was. Like the humans taught her to be. "Attacking you? No... bad thing to do. I'm good. The humans say. Me... not scary... me friend! You not... you mean and hurt." she said, her smile returning at first, but quickly fading away toward the end. She didn't understand why he wanted to hurt her, though fear could be a reason to. She hurt a human once because she was scared, but it brought... pain. Pain and sadness.

"Hurt..." Rick muttered to himself, his voice equally sad. He didn't really mean to hurt her... he was only protecting himself. She was the one to attack him first after all... attacking... well... it was more like him thinking that she was about to attack him and reacting instinctively, but the end result has been the same. He had hurt her, and for no logical reason, other than stupid animal logic. He was getting tired of this. Once again, now that the initial problematic action was way past him, he regretted it, but he didn't want to blame himself this time. Bad decisions seemed frequent in the body of a pikachu, and he would have wasted his time trying to explain himself, time he could always use later, when things will become calmer. What was done was done, and he should be working on making friend with this vixen. If he was to be stuck in the cage with her for some time, diplomacy was a must for survival. It was not because she was nice now that she would still be later, if he got her mad.

Hoping to show that he felt safer around her now, Rick took all the time needed to roll on his belly again, to get back on four paws and to turn around to face her. His position was more relax now, and his face displayed a smile. However, he wasn't sitting like the vixen did. Instead, he had a leg placed in such a way that he could run again if he needed it. Now comfortably set, he spoke louder, his voice conveying his guilt. "I didn't want to hurt you... it was a... mistake. It won't happen again. I can be your friend, if you don't try to hurt me. My name is... err...Ri...R..."

His name... another matter of confusion. Could she understand the word 'Rick'? Probably not... he just had trouble saying it himself. It hadn't sound like a real word to his mind. Not something he could associate a sound to. There was another name, though, that floated around, one that seemed to fit perfectly. It might not sound human at all, but it wouldn't hurt to use it, would it? "...I am Sparktail. This is my name. The humans gave me that name. The humans are nice things."

For once, he actually felt like he was lying. And, surprisingly enough, it wasn't the because of the name. The name was fine... but... the humans hadn't given him that name, had they? He couldn't remember exactly. There was something behind the name, a strong feeling of belonging to something else. And this something else was not humanity. Not even human related. It just felt… right... like being back at home after being away for a long time. Now, if only he could remember what his home was supposed to be...

Unaware of the rat's musing, the vulpix smiled at his answer, looking at him expectantly, feeling so happy. He wanted to be her friend! He would not hurt her too! This was good! Being alone here was not fun. Sure, the human had been giving her food, and sometime, other humans had come and had been nice, but it hadn't been like having a friend to play with. She had one before, but she had to leave, like others before. Being alone made her sad, but it wasn't the case at the moment. This... Sparktail... mouse will keep her company. They will run around, and eat human food, and sleep together. And maybe have fun fights like the human made her do. Those hurt, but they are fun. And she will never be alone again!

Approaching the rodent, she nuzzled her muzzle against his side, in her own foxy way to show affection. She then licked his side, taking her time with it. Sparktail frowned at the touch, but he calmed himself quickly, as it felt like petting. His fur smelt and tasted good... like it did for all the small things she played with before. "Mmm... you are a good friend." she said, giving him a last lick, before standing over him like she did before. "Sparktail is a nice name. That's because it comes from humans and humans are nice. Humans gave me a name too. My name is Sunny! Like the ball of light in the great blue! I like the ball of light. The ball of light is like me... it makes light. Light makes everything better. It keeps the scary darkness away... the darkness is not fun... It brings scary noises, and things and..."

She went on for what seemed forever, each sentence following the next one with some basic logic, but nothing worth of writing a novel. Despite that, Rick listened to every word of every sentence that came out of her muzzle. It was the most interesting thing he heard lately. Compared to this, Bill's lecture on how his machine work was like a rotten apple, an empty shell. If Sunny had wanted to impress him, it would be mission accomplished. No matter how simple her tale was, it made sense. It was a unique view on how a pokemon sees the world around it. Simplistic concepts like monsters, round food, home of light and the place of green entered into his mind quite easily, without needing further explanations. He knew about all those things. It felt like Pokemon Life Crash Course 101, but with a movie about it playing in his mind, emotions coming with the combo. He was feeling her fears, her joys, her sad moments…

Far from being any kind of attraction (she might be nice, but she was still a pokemon and a predator), this blind admiration was there because he was being reminded of all the things a pokemon might experience everyday. Frankly, this was the only thing that mattered to his mind. Getting food, protecting yourself, survival, playing, sleeping... all those things held more interest than reading, or working on things, or earning green paper, all combined. If she had a better way to do any of those things, it was worth listening to.

Even that, eventually, bored him. He was full, food had been digested, and now it was time for something that would bring him more. Rick looked around for anything that would interest him. Noticing that Sparktail wasn't listening to her anymore, Sunny stopped talking and followed his movements. Soon, a new idea came to her mind (it was only something that she forgot and remembered, but it seemed new to her) "Oh... do you want to play, Sparktail?" she asked, running past him, nearly pushing him aside, and reached for the ball, taking it into her jaws. "I vound goy! Pyay wit it! It heems hun!" She said with difficulty, biting into the ball as she did, pleased with the squeaky sound it made.

'Sparktail' was not one for playing, not with something so childish. His instincts seemed to want him to do that, but he had to refuse. "I don't think playing is something I want to do... I think I... err... I..." He was about to tell her why, but she already got the message. She dropped the ball onto the ground, her smile gone. It was an instant mood switch. "No good... play... no..." she muttered sadly, adding guilt to the whole thing. As far decisions went, helping other not to be sad held a bigger priority than his own needs... one thing the pikachu body didn't change too much. It was already hard to say no, but this...

He sighed… he would regret this... "No... don't be sad... I... I will play with you... you could... err... throw the ball in the high green and I would try to find it. And then, I would try to hide it and you would find it. It would be like... finding a treasure!" He said, acting as much convincing as he could fake it.

The trick was working. Sunny nodded and smiled, letting out a happy yip. She seemed to enjoy the idea. She took the ball again in her jaws, turned her head as much she could to the left, then swung the ball to the right. It flew slowly over the grass, hit the roof and fell into grasses far away. Rick followed the movement, almost sighing. It could have been thrown closer, from his point of view. He had no idea about where it landed. "That's... hard to start with..." he said in a complaining tone. At least, it would be a good practice.

He looked at the situation logically. What would he do first if he needed to find something? He would... go where he last saw it. He had a good idea about the direction it took, so it was a good starting point. After glancing backward once, to see if Sunny was moving (she was standing still and smiling at him, so no risk of being hit in the back there), he entered the long grass area, walking in at a slow and cautious pace, tail raised, attentive to any abnormal sign that would show him about how close he was from the ball. He was confident, at first, that he would find it quickly, but looking around became boring fast, and, like with listening to the story before, he wanted so much to do something else. After some time, it became so boring that it made running in a circle look appealing. Speaking of circle, he had turned around so much that he had no idea how to find Sunny. Maybe she could hear him, if he screamed loudly, which he did "Hey! I can't see the ball and I'm lost!"

It wasn't long before an answer came back to him, and it looked like he said something illogical. "See? No... can't see the toy! Must smell the toy! Smell! It's easy!" Smell the ball? He had no idea how that ball smelled like. Was he supposed to guess the smell? This vixen must have been crazy, but who was he to argue with a real pokemon? Tilting his head forward, he took a deep inspiration with his nose, taking in all the scents around him. They described the grass, the ground, the fence, the vixen, his fur and even the fox saliva on...

The saliva! The smell was bad, so much that he felt like running away from himself. However, this wasn't the only spot where the smell was present. Nearby, there was another strong source of it. It couldn't be the vulpix... her smell was farther. The nearby source of this scent could be anything the vixen touched with her mouth. It could be the ball... or food... or something else... it was a good hint. Even as inexperienced as he was with the whole tracking scents business, this one was easy to track down. His whole body wanted to get away from it, so, all he had to do was fighting his body. He felt his paws tense, going against this decision, but he ignored it. Following his instincts (or rather going against them), he found the open spot in the grass where the ball landed, where it was laying, waiting for him. He smiled. This hasn't been too hard, once he knew how to do it... but he still had one problem to solve. "Hum... I found the toy... but I'm still lost. Do you see me? Can you tell me where I have to go to find you?"

Again, the answer was a confused one, with a slight tone of annoyance to it. "Yay... you found it but... you can't find me? I don't see you, but you don't need that! The humans taught me something. It's so easy... you are a strange mouse... You hear me?" What kind of question was that? How course he heard her! He was not deaf! This wasn't help him at all. "Yes... I hear you..." he said, a bit disinterested. There was a short moment of silence, quickly filled with the calm and almost this-is-sooo-obvious voice of the vulpix. "You know where I am, if you hear me! I know where you are, because I hear you talking!"

Rick took the ball in his paws, returning to his two-pawed stance. This was an easier position to think. Sunny was trying to tell him something, but what? She told him that she didn't see him, but, yet, she knew where he was. Was it his smell? He smelled her; he knew that she was around, but not with enough precision to find her. No, she said it had something to do with her voice... This was confusing. Sound tells you how close something is, but not where it is exactly. He needed his eyes for that. He--

"Sparktail? Sparktail? Why are you not coming? I'm here! I want to play with the toy too!" Ahhh! Her voice was disturbing his thinking! Couldn't she scream somewhere else, so it was less noisy...

Suddenly, it felt like a door to some knowledge was unlocked in his mind. Oh! How could he have been so dumb? Hearing a sound means you can know where it came from, because it was spread in a circle from a source! It loses strength with distance and has a direction, pointing to the source. It was a simple law of waves! How could he have forgotten about that! This is something he should know about! Was... was he losing it? Where was his knowledge about things? Where did it go? Such thing doesn't disappear without any reason. Could... no... how didn't he saw it earlier! He was losing it! And there he was, playing with a ball! It wasn't time for games! He had to save himself! But... Sunny wanted the ball… Ok… he would give it to her, and then try to find his knowledge. This was a good plan!

Holding on the ball, he quickly walked through the grass on two paws (not the easiest thing to do), going toward the voice, which was still calling for him. When he reached her, he threw the ball at her feet, but she wasn't about to stop. "Yay! Now you can hide the ball for me to play! It will be--" she said happily, but he cut him off. "No! No more game! Finished! Over! Done! That's it! I'm done with this! Things are not right! My head... it... lack things! I need to get out of here! It's a bad place! Where is the exit! Tell me! I want to get out! Now!"

Sunny lowered her head sadly. He wanted to leave already? This wasn't a bad place... she had fun here... maybe it was because he wasn't good at the game? This could be solved. "But... I don't care if you are not good. I can teach you! You will be good like me! And you will have more fun! Lot of fun! And..."

More game? Was she crazy? He glanced at her madly, narrowing his eyes. Was playing the only thing she had on her mind? Didn't she have anything better to do? And how come she didn't hunt anything? And what was she doing in here? The questions were many, but only a few mattered right now. "Hey!" he shouted angrily, keeping his glare on her. "I don't want to play anymore! It's nothing against you, I just don't feel like it. Now... why are you here, and how do we get out?"

The vixen didn't break the glare. Maybe if she answered his questions, maybe he would be less mean and that he would want to play again. She did it calmly, and her voice charged with sadness "My human was hurt, and I couldn't play with it and battle with the other pokemon. Another human came and took me here. There were more friends here before, but new humans came and took them away. No more Shifty and no more Flafy! One day, a human will come for me too, and will show me how to get out."

Rick face fell... there was something very wrong in her story... something… scary. He couldn't put a paw on it, but he had a very bad feeling about this. "What... I don't think I understood what you said... huh... what happened with the friends who left? What did the humans do with them?"

Her answer came fast, along with a smile, but he would have preferred to hear something else. Anything else, really. "Oh... something fun! The humans put them in the home of light, and they returned to playing with humans and fighting other pokemon, like we will do soon!"


	7. Walled Freedom

_Author notes: Behold! The longest chapter ever (by 25 words)! Still in search of a writing strategy, I adopted the "write, don't think" method for this one. Result: chapter written in a record time 5 hours 30 minutes instead of 8-10 hours. Took me nearly as long to revise, though, but that is beyond the point. The point is: Cool! As bonus, since this is chapter lucky 7, I bring you this one day earlier than expected! I'm so nice (and tired of revising). The real reason has to do with going home tomorrow and Super Mario Galaxy… but… err… _

Now, review responses!

Foxyjosh: Yes… I do it the right way. Pokemon are creatures too, and we need to see how they think! This is important for our planet… and things… Anyway… you are lucky, because Sunny will stick around for a bit longer, probably. I can't promise anything.

StormFang: Woo! Wow…_ this beat Foxyjosh "Great Chapter!" as the short review ever… really… I dare anyone to do a zero word review. You know I will find a way to imagine a reply. I did before. I'm kind of getting away here… but that's not like I have a lot to say about your review. So I will say that I'm happy to see you are back, unlike some others people. (stare at Bill) _

Kirby: Confusion, fusion, adoption! You like –ion a lot… so I will say this: Vacation! Woo! No… that's a joke. Last time I said that, I disappeared for a whole 3 months. Hum… yeah… so Rick is in the adoption pen. That's sad… or is it? That depend for whom, I guess. Some people might find it great, other don't. And pokemon think simply… I'm sure I said that before… oh well…

Tyler: You followed my advice, hey? Anyway…yes… I worked a lot on the chapter on revising, and even more on this one, though I doubt that the results will be as good. But it will be up to you to tell me. And yes… you learn things everyday. When I revise, the pokedex and google are my best friends. I have questions, they have the answers. It helps a lot with getting facts. Speaking of facts, you doubt mine about pokemon not being dumb. Yes… but the sad truth is, pokemon cannot be as brilliant as they are in the anime. Really, when pokemon talk, what is said are not words, but only the tone of their voices haves meaning. Pokemon are mostly able to qualify things, like big, small, tail… etc… but most concepts would be foreign to them. This is a work of literature, but if it wasn't, you would never hear a pokemon say words. That's what make is so hard to make a translator to translate their language, but yet, easy at the same time. Since they only understand the tone of their voices, they can say about anything, as long the tone is right. And that's partly why all pokemon speak differently, but can understand each other, no matter the species.

And now comes the chapter:  


Chapter 7: Walled freedom

The vixen's words repeated themselves in Rick's head, irritating him. Their meaning become clearer each time he heard them. This place... it would be his end! It would finish him off! There weren't twenty meanings he saw in what the enthusiastic vulpix had said. There was, unfortunately, only one: one day, a trainer would come and pick him as a starter or something, then he would be kept in a pokeball and forced to fight against innocent pokemon! Not only battling was wrong, as far ethics were concerned, but if simply walking around grass had made him lose some knowledge, he feared to think about what would happen to his mind if he was to be weakened physically, after all those battles. He wouldn't even have some time to himself for trying to keep his mind intact! His life would be reduced to battling, training, sleeping, training, battling... without any rest... he would be lost not before long. There was no way he would let this happen to him. He was human, not pokemon! That human that had put him here... this Oak... how could he have done this to him? Didn't he know what he was? What had motivated him to get rid of him like this? Didn't he value his life?

Rick looked up, angered by those questions without any answer. His eyes met with the smiling face of that vulpix. That face... it was taunting him. How could she be so happy, while he was losing his mind? "What's the problem with you? Don't you see? The humans are trying to make me crazy! They... they want me to forget... they want me to disappear... they... they..." he wanted to finish, but his voice died. He didn't want it to say it. He felt so lost, all of a sudden, so alone. He was in pain... a pain that this dumb pokemon couldn't understand! He was probably only talking to himself. "...they hate me!" he screamed, lowering his head.

He didn't deserve any of this! He had done nothing wrong! It was only a small mistake... being transformed was enough of a punishment. Why were they punishing him more? And why, for the love of everything on this planet, no one had the answers to all those questions he kept asking himself? As much he was angry at the humans, he was ashamed. Ashamed of himself for making mistakes, ashamed of humans for seeing as someone to be hated and ashamed he shown his angst to this pokemon, even if she couldn't understand it.

This was where he had been partly wrong. Sunny kept listening to everything he said and, as he thought, she hadn't understood any of this... until he said that humans hated him. Hate. This concept wasn't so foreign to her. She met those bad pokemon before, who fought, but weren't smiling. Those pokemon who said that their human hated them and wanted to hurt them. Those pokemon who wanted to escape. Those pokemon who didn't want to play. Sparktail did all those things... but he hadn't acted like a bad pokemon, at first. He had shown interest in playing with her and he was smiling. Having never met a pokemon who was both good and bad, she had no idea about what she was supposed to do. No human had ever taught her about that. However, she needed to be with good pokemon, because it made her feel happy. And if this pokemon had shown he was good, she had to make him good again, so she can be happy again. A good pokemon was happy, and she knew just how to make a pokemon happy. She walked near his lowered form and licked the top of his head.

The arrival of a tongue coming to lick Rick's forehead was sudden and unexpected. More importantly, it was unwanted. He had no use for something that made him feel more like a pokemon. This was bad... it made him forget things. "Stop... Sunny... I don't..." he muttered weakly, lowering himself more, in a poor attempt to avoid it. Unfortunately for him, Sunny saw this as an act of submission to her licking, and wasn't about to stop. His body wasn't helping either... he felt himself wanting more of it. "No... I... It's... not..." he tried to say, but his words lost their strength. They vanished, replaced by soft sounds of pleasure, which were recognized, to any pokemon listening, including himself, as if saying "Don't stop... so...nice…" He heard it, he understood it, but didn't care anymore. Each time the tongue licked him, it felt like being in paradise, again and again. This moment didn't want to stop and didn't want it to. If there had been anything he ever experienced before that would have came close to this, it would be that time his mother cuddled him at the age of nine moons, after he injured his paw on the feet-moved human machine. It was simply too good to stop.

Instinctively, he rolled on his back, leaving his soft belly exposed. His eyes closed, his anger melted away and his heart rate slowed down. The only thing left to do was to enjoy it as long he could. Standing over his belly, Sunny didn't disapprove his choice of position, as she proceeded to licking his belly, in a manner not very different than the one she would later use on in her life, as a Ninetales with kits to take care of. Obviously, she was enjoying it as much he was. It could be considered weird to any human, but to her, this action was natural. This pokemon was in need and she was applying a method that she liked to use to make him feel better. It was enjoyable to see that her licking was nearly making him scream in joy. So much joy sounded like music to her ears. Soon, they would be playing again...

-----

In the comfort of his favorite old fashioned wooden chair, Samuel sat silently, putting the finishing touch to one of the many forms he had to fill. As the local authority on pokemon, there was not a moment where he could sit and relax. With his time split up between studying rare species of pokemon, studying pokemon in their environment and working in collaboration with other researchers like Bill to make great advancements in the technologies used every day, he had unfortunately little time left for new responsibilities. As he was filling his form, though, he knew that time wouldn't be an issue. Soon... his newest problem would go away like a helium filled balloon in the wind.

His concentration was soon interrupted by a high-pitched ringing sound coming from the other side of his home. There weren't tons of things in his house that could have made this kind of annoying sound. As disturbing as it was, the tone of his doorbell couldn't have come at a better time; he needed to take a break from filling those forms. Carefully closing his files and putting them back in his desk, he got up from his chair and quickly made his way to his front door. Calmly, he opened it, taking a look at whoever was standing outside. What he saw was to be expected, with the fame the pokemon professor had.

Wearing a belt filled with pokeballs, the figure standing in front of the old professor was, without any doubt, a trainer. Not your usual type of trainer either. It was the "survivalist" kind of one. Eyes hidden behind sunglasses, the person was wearing hiking boots, cargo pants, a simple shirt and gloves. Holding a bag that seemed to weight more than the person lifting it, it was the kind of gear that would let anyone survives in any rough environment. But the biggest surprise was the person dressed in such a manner. Behind those glasses, were hidden the glittering emerald eyes of a young woman, no older than 18. Her face shown healthy colors, her long, untied light brown hair was apparently very clean and her smile radiated with happiness. "Hello, Professor Oak, honored to meet you. I'm Jen Sutter." she started politely, her hand ready for a handshake.

The professor looked at her, not at all fazed by the girl before him, but rather surprised with the good timing. He was expecting her only the next day, or the day after, but certainly not today. But, anyway, it was welcomed news. Shaking her hand, he stared at her, smiling widely. "Thank, but, at the current time, I think it's more of an honor for me to meet you, Miss Sutter. I heard a lot from my peers about all your discoveries in your homeland of Johto, and your good performance as a trainer. I assume you are here for that pokemon that was promised to you?"

The young woman nodded, her sunglasses hiding the obvious excitement in her eyes. The pokemon she was promised is rare in her homeland. It would be quite a good addition to her team, as it was said to have a large training background. Not only that, but getting it from the famous professor Samuel Oak was all an honor in itself. She could consider herself lucky to get this today. From what she heard, the only pokemon given away here were starter pokemon, the choices were usually limited, and the pokemon untrained. The pokemon she would get was leagues away from that... and it would be a welcome gift more than appreciated. Calm and prepared for this, the girl took the most serious tone she was able to use. "Yes... professor... I was surprised when I heard from my father that you wanted me to take one of your pokemon. I'm no one special, really. Only your usual trainer, ready some challenge of some kind." she said modestly and honestly, smiling slightly.

Samuel smiled at her frank behavior. She would be the perfect person that little experiment of his. "It is true that you don't have the most impressive list of achievement as a trainer, but your ability to bond and to take care of pokemon, is, from what I heard, exceptional. A gift of this kind does require a nice present, but... I have something else to offer you that might _spark_ your interest."

The girl was taken aback by this. If this mysterious offer had come from anyone else, she would have kindly refused. As much she liked to take risks when exploring the great outdoors, she wasn't this open when it came to people. However, since it was coming from a respected professor, what would she have to risk? "Something else?" she asked, with reserved interest.

The old man bent to his side, reaching for the cage he used earlier, showing it to Jen. "I won't bore you with long explanations. It would better if I shown you. It's in the same cage that the vulpix you will receive. Please follow me." he said while stepping outside and closing the door. Walking past his house, he gestured her to follow him toward one of the many enclosures around it.

After tightening her bag on her back, she walked behind the kind professor at a pace that was way too slow for her. If she knew where they were going, she would already have run there. Getting bored, she glanced at the cage and frowned. She didn't believe that this cage was for the vulpix. Not only it was too small, but a tamed pokemon wouldn't require a cage. Another pokemon was probably involved in a package deal, but it didn't explain why he was bringing a cage. She waited until they were far away from the house and possible spying eyes, and asked her question, in a determined voice. "So... is it another pokemon? What is up with the cage? Is it wild?" Getting to tame a new wild pokemon would indeed be a challenge, but if it wasn't a vulpix, what could it be, then?

Samuel glanced at her for a short moment, almost annoyed by her almost disrespectful way to ask the question. But... he has been young and impatient at one point in his life, so he understood her. He might as well get past the lie part and be done with that. "Yes... it's a wild pokemon, Miss Sutter. It's not a regular one, though. Since it was captured recently, we noticed that this pokemon displays formidable intelligence, I would dare to say, almost human like. I was charged of examining its behavior, but my simulated environments are not ideal for this kind of subject. I need to know how it will behave in a real situation, while learning training methods and interacting with people and other pokemon. Unfortunately, I don't have time for such, but I though a challenge of this magnitude could interest you. It would be a unique experience in your trainer career, as well in your life."

The young woman looked at the professor strangely, unsure if this she had to believe this. A pokemon with near human intelligence? This was surprising, to say the least. Impossible, even. She was about to reply to that, but the professor stopped in front of an enclosure. She decided against reacting strongly for now and would watch how things will play out. You have to see to believe, they say. It was a good time to apply this.

During this time, Rick was having it hard. Despite his best efforts, he had been unable to stop himself from enjoying the licking he was receiving, or to prevent the female vulpix from giving it to him. He had only been able to lie on his back, like an inoffensive creature, and give all his body to her, completely driven out of his mind by his instincts. He was lost so deeply in his pleasure state that he didn't hear when the two humans came close to the cage. If it weren't for Jen's heavy boots, they would have come totally unnoticed. They weren't, though, since Sunny heard those boots. Like if she was given an order, she instantly stopped licking the poor pikachu, and looked at the approaching familiar shapes. The humans! They were coming! Now, it was her turn to leave and to return to playing with humans! "Here they are! Here they are!" she shouted happily, leaping over Rick and running next to the exit place the closest to the humans. A quick examination of the humans shown her that one of them was new and female, but, most importantly, she had homes of light with her. She had no doubts now, as she was pawing at the gate: She was getting a new home!

Sunny wasn't the only pokemon to be excited, though Rick's excitement was completely different. The sudden disappearance of the licking gave Rick two opposite reactions. The first was instinctive: he was losing his protection, his happy feeling and he felt like something important was missing. Panicked, he opened his eyes and looked around. Only high up and high green was to be seen, nothing else. The emptiness of the area around him confirmed the sad truth: the nice fox had left. He wasn't sad for long, however. With the instinctive control of the licking gone, his logical thoughts resurfaced, ordering him to look more deeply into this. Sunny was gone. This was both a good and a bad thing. Good because he wasn't controlled by his instincts anymore, but bad because... well... with all those humans hating him, Sunny was the closest thing he had to a friend, and now… she was gone. He had to know what had happened to her!

Going back to his four-pawed position, he sniffed around, searching for that particular burned fur scent so characteristic of the vulpix. Luckily, the scent was still there and its source only feet away. After doing it only once, tracking a scent seemed to be a natural skill. He would have to thank Sunny for unlocking this knowledge, as soon he saved her from… something else nearby. Having his view being blocked by the so useless patches of grass (he was truly considering adding that on his hate list), he had no choice but to walk blindly toward the scent of his foxy friend. Once freed from the wall of green, he saw what had made her come here. And he wasn't sure if he had to be happy or if he had to panic.

Beyond the fence between him and freedom, were two large humans, one holding the cage that was his home before. This, alone, could have been good. The old human was probably coming back to get him, after feeling so guilty about leaving him here alone with this vulpix. Not that Sunny had been any trouble, considering that she should normally have killed him. If he ignored her desire to make him play games that made him forget things, he could even consider her like a good friend. Another good thing was the person next to the man. Its scent was nowhere as unsettling as the vulpix scent, or even the scent of the older human. Something about it was... attracting, almost pleasuring.

Next to him, Sunny was in a similar state. The way this new human smelled... it was great! If the wall-you-can-see-through wasn't there, she would have rubbed herself against her feet (she learned to tell the difference between a male and a female human, by their different scents.). But it was there, so the only thing she was allowed was clinging on the wall-that-disappeared, eying the thing that makes it vanishes. It was only a matter of time before the human would make the wall disappear. Nothing was wrong.

To Rick, the list of positive facts ended there. He might have been impaired visually, but he wasn't an idiot. As soon he noticed the balls on the female human middle section, his admiration for the female human ended. She was one of those evil trainers, wanting him to fight and to forget, wanting to put him into that evil dark place, where he would meet the evil pikachu that confused him with his strange talking and made him feel pain and fear. This fear, he didn't want to experience it again. Never would he go into a ball again. Never! Not even the nice scent would convince him of that. The nice scent... oh... he wanted so much to go near it and lie down. And maybe get some nice petting.

"No!" he scolded himself, looking away from the human. He would not fall for it! Being licked by something he liked was bad enough, but letting a human that hated him do that… would be horrible! He would rather have a bloodthirsty vulpix next to him than that! Well... maybe not that... more like having a playfully annoying little vicious vulpix next to him playing with his mind rather than his body. No… this was Sunny… well… whatever… he just didn't want to be petted by the human girl.

Feeling the urge to be petted by that girl increasing again, he raised his body on two paws, staring at the female human while he was subtly making his way toward the grass, where another kind of freedom was waiting. This freedom, right now, seemed more appealing than the one outside.

From the point of view of the girl, the whole thing played out pretty much like she had expected it. They only had to approach the cage to make the young vulpix come as close to them it could, waiting to come out with an enjoyed expression on its muzzle. This was the sign of a perfectly well tamed pokemon. She had nothing to fear from it. For a moment, she had been tempted to open the enclosure's gate, but it suddenly became more risky. Another pokemon jumped out from the patches of long grasses, this one having a negative aura of anger around it. It was sad, since the pokemon was a cute little pikachu. From her earliest childhood memories, she had always seen pikachu as those happy creatures appearing on TV. Even the real ones she had observed on her travels looked playful, as long she wasn't getting too close from their home. This one just seemed too… nervous and worried. She could see it in the nervous way it was looking ahead, with one eyes looking to its left, toward the grass. This pokemon didn't want her to be here

This pokemon had only been there for a short moment that it was already walking away. There came another thing in its behavior that was uncommon, maybe even a rare sight. The pokemon was backing away, but on two paws! She might not be an expert on pikachu, but any prey pokemon able to walk on four paws would use them all to get away. It made almost no sense for it to act like this. And by the way its front paws were placed in front of it protectively, as to defend itself... if this pokemon hadn't almost human intelligence, it certainty learned to have an almost human gesture. "If I had to make a wild guess, I would say this cute little pikachu is the pokemon you were talking about, professor."

The professor nodded at her, taking a small notepad from his front pocket of his lab coat, trying to be as detached from the situation as he could. He was talking about a pokemon here, not a human. "It would be a good guess, Miss Sutter." he said without ceremony, as he began to read the first page of his little notepad, which contained all the biological specifications about Rick's body, coming right from Bill's DNA database. "This pikachu is a male about twenty month old, have a weight and height close to the average of his species, which is about 1' 4" and 13 lbs. Being wild, he didn't have a name, so I named him Sparktail. He seems a bit nervous about humans, but he doesn't seem to dislike us, which is a good thing. Some training should make him more approachable, but, to be safe, I think it would better if you tried to get acquainted with him before he get too much of a bad idea about you… or hide in the grass." he finished, monitoring her to go closer to the cage, which was something Jen would have done even without being told so.

After setting her travel bag on the ground, she walked near the cage with a smile, sitting next to it. It was impossible for her to make her hand go on the other side on the fence, which was a shame, since it was inches away from the vulpix she wanted to get to know too. She would have already, if it hasn't been for the pikachu that kept her busy.

At this point, Rick had stopped. The professor's words had reached for him and thrown him in the dirt. He was trying to feel more like a human, and this man came here, with this human trainer with the evil balls, and talked about him like if he was just some kind of lab rat! He wanted to dig a hole so much right now, to hide his head into it, but even that was impossible. He sucked both at being a human and a pikachu. The best alternative was lowering his body as low he could, his ears flattened against his head, and bracing himself for something stupid that would come out of the trainer's mouth. He was served, when the soft voice talked to him, saying: "Hello, Sparktail. I'm Jen Sutter. Nice to meet you."

Nice to meet him? Nice to meet... what the? Was this trainer completely out of her mind? He expected something like 'Oh... the cute little pikachi pikachu! Wanna see the nice trainer? I have an apple for you!', not this almost... respectful... human way of greeting. Finally someone talking to him like everyone should have, since the beginning! He was impressed. This was all it took to make his view about the Jen girl flip around. This human could be the first one worthy of being called nice… maybe.

Sensing an opening, he rose back on two paws and walked toward her, waving his paw. "Hi, Jen! I'm Ri...Ri… bah… I'm Sparktail!" he said almost too innocently. Unfortunately for him, this answer, well... more precisely, the way he acted, was nothing like a pokemon would do. Jen gasped, amazed. "D-did he just wave his paw at me?" she asked, turning her head to glance at the professor, her face paling.

The professor stayed silent, his eyes set on the pikachu approaching the gate. This, indeed, was surprising, but not that much. He had no idea what could really be going on inside Rick's head, but he could make a guess. Rick wasn't that brilliant anymore, it seemed. As to what the rodent had been thinking, he wouldn't have shown how different he was from a regular pikachu, have he had human intelligence, unless the former human didn't hear what he said about him. This possibility, again, he had to ignore. If he understood Miss Sutter without any apparent trouble, he had no doubt that he knew what he said. He acted like something with a mind just a bit better the usual intelligence of a pokemon, closer to the mentally challenged person. As sad it was, he was helping him right now. He let out a small "Hum…" as only sign of approbation.

Stunned, Jen looked back at the strange pikachu, who was now near the gate, next to the vulpix, looking at her curiously. "Errr... well... you know why I'm here?" she asked, the whole thing feeling a bit awkward. She was used to talking with her pokemon, but never would she expect one to actually understand anything but basic commands.

Rick though for a moment about the question. He had a pretty good idea why, especially after hearing the male human speech, but he wasn't entirely sure about it. Maybe she only wanted to see him. Maybe she was here only for Sunny. Either way, not to break his chances of knowing a nice human beside himself, he had to answer. He pointed her pokeballs with his paw, his face looking unpleased.

"What is it?" the young woman inquired, trying to figure out what the mouse was pointing at. Following the imaginary line prolonged from his paw finger to his arm, she noticed that the object he was pointing at was her pokeballs. She forced a smile; he knew why she was here, at least. "Yes... and I would want you to come with me. We could become good friends you and I. And all the other pokemon in there wants to be your friend, too!"

Rick closed his eyes, sighing. This girl wasn't any different from the others humans. She only cared about using him. Becoming a battler would be giving up on his future. Sure... if he was not to be kept inside a pokeball, not doing any battling and that there was nothing that could be done here to help him, he would not have any problem with going with her for some time. He would be free of this cage and she seemed nice. It wasnt like it was going to happen, though.

He shook his head vigorously. Sure, his human girl would understand him. "No? You don't want to come with me? It's a lot bigger out there than in this tiny cage. Don't you want to be outside the mean cage? Or to have nice food? Like this." Slyly, she searched into a pocket of her bag while Rick looked at her hand. Soon, she took the promised fruit, an apple, and set it in front of the opening. "Could you open the cage, professor?"

The old man looked down at Rick, then at the apple. Then he smiled. "Yes, why not?" he said, taking out a small key that he inserted into an opening of the gate, undoing the lock what would usually be undone by the cage's docking mechanism. The gate slid open, opening the way to the apple. Rick wasn't the only pokemon in the cage, unfortunately. Sunny, which has been silent since the humans appeared, jumped in joy when the gate opened. She was free! And she was offered a nice gift! She ran out of the cage, took the apple in her jaws, laid down in the grass and began eating it, all of this before Rick realized what was happening.

His eye's narrowed. This apple was his food! Following Sunny out of the cage, he ran near her face and tried to grab the apple, but the vixen turned her head. Annoyed, he ran back and forth, following the movement of her head, but unable to grab the apple. Sunny decided, after a few tries, that she had enough of this, and moved elsewhere to eat her apple.

Rick looked down sadly. He wasn't even able to take a fruit out a pokemon mouth... how pathetic. "Oh... sorry Sparktail... I forgot about your friend. Well... doesn't it feel nice to be out of the cage?"

Out of the cage? He wasn't... he was... out... He looked behind him in confusion, seeing the opened gate and the long grass beyond. He was really out of the cage! He won against the evil wall! Now, he was free to go wherever he wanted! The only problem was: where was he supposed to go? Bill promised to help him, but he sent him to Oak instead. Oak promised to help him too, but he locked him inside the evil cage. He remembered what he said before... the humans really hated him. No one wanted to help him. But this human female... she was offering him freedom and food. So far, it was the nicest thing someone did for him since he ended up like this. This was so confusing…

He looked up again, forcing a smile at her. Jen smiled too, rubbing her hand on his head. "Being outside is fun, isn't it? But there is lot of better things out there. Other pokemon, trees, big water, cities and mountains. Lot of fun and food. Don't you want to see those things?"

He would have nodded, but his mind was busy with her hand touching his head. It felt so good. He knew that he should have been refusing it, but she was being so nice with him. And then… the switch flipped. For the first time since he became a pikachu, he was considering doing something that a real pokemon would do. Not because he was giving up on his humanity. No. He knew better than to fall into this easy death trap. Simply because, between all the choices he was offered, this was the best one, currently. He would not be able to stay in this cage for a long time. The hate of that male human and the field-like environment would drive him crazy. And if the human had been so fast to give him to the first random trainer that came here, it wouldn't be the last time, if he refused. The day he would crack to the pressure, he might end up with someone that wasn't as nice as this female. With some luck, he would be able to make this human bend to his will and make sure she would not treat him like a pokemon. She already knew he was mentally gifted, for a pikachu. He would only have to push things that way. And maybe... just maybe... he would be able to convince her that he used to be different. With someone so nice at his side, regaining what he lost would not be as hard as it looked. Either way… the humans he considered his peers and friends wouldn't help him. It was time to do things his way.

Waiting until she was finished, he enjoyed both the petting and the peace given by his choice, making him ready for anything. As soon she removed her hand, he nodded at her. Silently, she took a pokeball from her belt, and put it in front of Sparktail, making sure that the vulpix was too busy with her apple to care. "Alright... are you ready to come, now?"

He looked at ball for a few seconds, almost resigned. He would go in there decently, this time. No running away. He was about to start another part of his life. Whatever this would bring him, it would be an exciting adventure. In the end, he might win or lose, but whatever the outcome, he would be happy, human mind or not. This would be his consolation prize. Slowly, he rose on his feet and touched the round button on the ball with his paw. The ball opened, the light appeared, and soon, all that was left from the former human was a memory.


	8. Wild Illusions

**Merry Christmas! (or any other alternate holiday that you might celebrate or not) Here I come with ****a present for you all. I know this is not a good idea to post on Christmas, but I don't care. I'm kind of sorry for the delay, but, while the chapter was nearly done one month ago, something called end of semester came to me and prevented me from finishing it. Don't worry though, because I am back into action. As I am writing this, I have one third of chapter 9 written, and probably much more by the time I actually post this tonight. I am on a roll, though, because I present you another personal biggest chapter ever. I did more than 6000 words this time. I doubt this will be topped in a future chapter, so I would enjoy it for now. Well, enough ranting, here come the review response section. Since I don't have internet right now, I will try to reply according to what I remember about them.**

**Foxyjosh: One. Hehehe… ok… it's the last time I dare anyone to write a zero word review. I don't quite remember your real review, but thank for taking the time to write another one. I must admit that it took me two weeks before noticing that you sent me a private message. This shows how much I check my e-mails. Anyway… there will be more Sunny for some time, and another fox later on, because, well, another member of the Big Three, a group made of my most developed and favorite characters, which include Rick, happens to be one. Lucky you.**

**Tyler: Pika! pikachu pi pika chuu! Ok… err… pa pachi! Rodent pokemon language aside, I have nothing to say about your review. Oh… wait... oh yes… it was THAT review… oh yeah... so I have plenty of things to say. First, I know that you are going to complain about any mistake about Rick behavior, but I am far from perfect. Trying to develop a character on which I know almost nothing without slipping into a version of him I used during hundreds of hours of role playing is no easy task. That fact aside, I also have a bad memory and I am prone to missing any detail that would seem obvious to most. So, Rick might do something in one chapter, but if no one remind me later, he might do the opposite later. That's what I appreciated from your proofreading, as it let me notice and correct most of those contradictions. As for the serious pace of the story that seemed to have vanished, I just want to state that, while chapter 6, 7 and 9 are mostly filler without any big plot development, the little that is done is essential. I have another plotline that I will try to develop and that should have been shown since chapter 6, but that have been delayed because of those fillers. It will appear in chapter 9, I promise. However, the most serious plot elements, which are indirectly related to Rick, won't play a big direct role in how most events in that story will happen for our 'hero' (only one will have a direct effect, but I won't show it, for reasons that will be obvious later on), other than setting the ground for a possible sequel, if I feel like doing one. So, while I will try to tie some loose ends, I will purposely leave some open. After all, what would be the purpose of a sequel if every problem is solved? Hehehe…**

**This end****s both the review response section and the ranting section of this chapter, so… good reading!**

Chapter 8: Wild Illusions

Destiny is sometime unpredictable. Sometimes things can suddenly change, never to be the same again. One day, you might be human, and the next day, a pokemon. One day, you might be with someone you thought you could trust, and then the next, they betray you. One day, you might be with your trainer, but the day after….. Even a pokeball might seem like a safe place, when you have to choose between that or facing the dangers of a forest.

Deep inside that forest, life was moving around, performing its daily repetitive duty, unaware of the events that would soon ensue. pokemon were running up and down trees, flying high in the sky, scurrying on the ground or digging under it, looking for food, mating, drinking or simply enjoying themselves, as many animals do. If Sparktail had been luckier, he would currently be enjoying similar forms of pleasure; but alas, this was not the case.

Near a small and quiet lake, his body was lying against a tree, face-down as he came out of his slumber. Like every other time he had woken up in an unknown environment, his mind automatically went into panic mode, confusion and fear taking over. As usual, the questions "Where am I?" and "Am I alone?" flew through his mind. Of course, clearing this up was only a matter of using his senses and, already, his body was providing the answers. Just by using his nose, he knew that he was surrounded by trees and water. He was obviously in a forest. A forest filled with predators and others rodents like him. He now understood his environment, which was good. However, the absence of his human trainer was disturbing. He couldn't smell her scent anywhere. She was gone! Or… maybe not! Maybe she was only feet away!

Even if he _was_ surrounded by beasts that wanted nothing more than to make a meal out of his appetizing yellow body, he would have to look for her. She would have done the same for him. Before he even thought about opening his eyes, a plan of action had already been made. First, he would have to make sure that there was food around, so he would have something to eat if he was forced to stay here for a long time. Then, he would have to scout the area, looking for Jen. Finally, as a last resort, if he didn't find her, his quest would take a sudden change of direction. Instead of looking for a human, he would look for other pikachu, so he would be able to join a colony. There, he would gain the food and the protection his human would have provided. When this was done, he would finally be ready to look for a mate. As nice as this last alternative was, he shouldn't think about it. All that mattered, right now, was to find his human.

But first thing's first, he had to find some food. Opening his eyes lazily, he took a look around. His nose had not deceived him; there was a forest behind him and a large puddle of water in front of him. Since food was often found near water, Sparktail pushed himself up onto his four paws and took a stroll by the lakeside, searching for any bush hiding a food-filled treasure. Atop a small hill towering over the water, he found a small berry tree, hidden among a few bushes. As great as this discovery was, it didn't satisfy Sparktail. Being close to water meant being close to predators, which meant being preyed on. After gorging on the tastiest looking berries, the pikachu walked away from the bush and made his way into the forest, not looking behind him. The food had filled him, but he wouldn't be returning there. It was too dangerous.

The first task might have been easy, but the next one would be harder. Finding Jen was going to be easier said than done. Not only could he not find her scent anywhere, but there wasn't any sign around pointing to a human having been there. It was like trying to get the best female with a lot of stronger males around. The road would be long, but the prize was worth it.

Shivering slightly at the thought of all the scary things that could happen if he stayed out of the path he would choose, he began to trek his way through the vegetation. Walking into the light vegetation surrounding the lake had been easy at first, but the scenery was radically changing as he traveled deeper. The grass became higher, the trees with large roots crawling around became more numerous and thorny bushes added to the fun. Those were annoying enough alone, but it was a hell on earth when they were put together. Forced to travel more cautiously, he advanced slowly, crawling under the thorns, jumping over the roots and walking through the grass, always looking ahead. Time passed, his skin was getting scratched and his body was fighting against fatigue, but it didn't matter. He had his goal at heart and nothing was going to stop him. He would find Jen, no matter how hurt or tired he would have to get.

Eventually, to Sparktail's relief, the rough vegetation ended. The trees no longer prevented him from seeing ahead anymore, but sadly, the new scenery didn't include any human buildings. Instead, he was presented with a wide, plain clearing where large pokemon were eating grass. He would have left to look elsewhere, but those strange pokemon were tempting him to stay. It wasn't so much that he was curious, but rather that he was tired after so much walking. Crouching and hiding among long grass, he relaxed and stared at those pokemon, his mind wandering away from his current goal of finding Jen. Losing focus and curiosity taking over, his mind was suddenly filled with questions about those pokemon. He had to know what those pokemon were and why they were eating grass. That strange act of eating confused him. He wasn't eating grass, because it wasn't food, so why were those pokemon eating it? It was so strange… you weren't supposed to eat things that weren't food!

Sparktail wasn't the only pokemon stung by curiosity. While the pikachu was staring at those pokémon, another yellow rodent was following him, attracted by this new pikachu in the woods. Seeing as the slightly smaller pikachu hadn't noticed him, obviously too busy with whatever he was staring at, he decided to make himself known. "Err... hi?" he said faintly, keeping himself in a low, defensive stance. Not that he was scared, but he knew all too well how impulsive other pikachu could be when surprised.

Sparktail was startled by the sudden voice, but more importantly, by how close it was. It seemed almost impossible, but something had snuck up behind him. He was an idiot. Had it been something more dangerous, it would have attacked him and he wouldn't have had any time to react. Feeling guilty about being distracted by the strange pokemon in the field, at the cost of his own safety, the rodent lowered his ears as he turned around to face his stalker. To his surprise, it was another pikachu, looking as defensive as he was. Relieved, Sparktail smiled, his ears perking up. "Oh... Hi! I'm Sparktail. Who are you?"

The other pikachu, seeing his smile, smiled too. This other pikachu was nothing to fear. He raised his tail and smiled too. It was a strange smile, though, almost a smirk. "Sparktail? Oh... that's a nice name. Mine is Psywave. Sounds cool, huh?" he asked, that strange smile still on his face. "Both are better than any human name. Humans are strange. Their ideas are... disturbing."

Disturbing... was the perfect word to describe how Sparktail felt about what Psywave said. First of all, what kind of pikachu name was Psywave? It wasn't close to any proper name he was could think of. Maybe Shockwave... but it still wasn't close enough to be a good name. Also, a name couldn't be cool. It could be a good name or a bad name, but it couldn't have a temperature. He didn't spend long thinking about the name issue though, because it was the last part of his message that was truly disturbing. Human? This word seemed so foreign, but so familiar at the same time. He knew was a human was; his trainer was one after all. Yet... something profound was hidden in the word. Human name? He knew some. To almost all of them, he could associate a human. He knew Jen, his trainer, Oak, a bad human, and Bill, another bad human. There was also that name without a human body: Rick.

He looked down sadly, his face displaying confusion about that mysterious name. Deep inside his heart, he felt the sadness of missing something important, something that came along with that name, something that disappeared at the same time than the human related with it, whoever he or she was. His thoughts may have been hidden from view, but his face wasn't. Psywave hadn't missed his expression, and his smile suddenly turned into a worried expression. "Are you ok, Sparktail? Did I say something you didn't like? Is it my name? Or is it about humans? You like humans, don't you?"

Sparktail's stare remained fixed on his feet, ignoring the other pikachu for the moment. All things considered, he didn't want to make his new friend think he had a low opinion of his name, neither would he want Psywave to question his faith in humanity. In spite of easing the tone of the discussion, the pikachu looked at Psywave again, forcing a smile. "I'm fine, I'm just... confused. Your name is nice...but strange. And the humans... most are bad, but some are nice. The nice ones give petting. But... err..." he ran on, looking back at the field. "Do you wanna look at the field with me? I'm trying to find a human." By ending this way, he hoped that they would focus on something else.

Fortunately, whether it was because he really understood that Sparktail didn't want to talk about it, because he didn't care about the smaller pikachu's confusion, or because he was just curious about what the other pikachu was staring at before he came, Psywave just nodded at Sparktail, trying to figure out just what Sparktail was staring at before. His ears perking up excitedly, he poked his head out of the grass, glacing at the field beyond. Sparktail did the same, putting his confusion aside to stare at the pokemon eating on the other side of the field. He couldn't still understand why those pokemon were eating grass. "Psywave?" he asked the other pikachu, who looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Do you know why those pokemon eat grass? Grass is used to hide and is not food." It was an innocent question, but this pikachu probably knew more about this place than him. After all, he never came here before, while this other pikachu probably lived here.

What Sparktail didn't understand about his question was that it was more than just asking for a fact. In fact, such a question was so innocent and lacking any proper knowledge about pokemon that not laughing at it would have been nearly impossible. Unfortunately for Sparktail, Psywave was not one to ignore such an opportunity. As soon Sparktail finished, Psywave's blank puzzled expression turned into a soft chuckle, then into mocking laughter. Sparktail kept staring at him, finding nothing humorous about his question. "Sparktail..." Psywave spurted out between two laughs. "...different pokemon eat different kind of food. We eat berries, nuts and apples, those pokemon eat grass, the predators eat us and them, and I heard that some pokemon eat rocks. Anything can be food."

Sparktail was shocked. Anything can be food? It truly felt like some kind of revelation. A tidbit of knowledge of this importance would have a treasured place somewhere in his mind, next to his memories of Jen. It filled a hole that was begging to be filled, but, at the same time, it created another. How did he know that? Had he been told by another pikachu who knew? It could also be that this pokemon had a trainer who told him. Jen never did, but maybe Psywave's trainer, if he had one, was different. Either way, someone, somewhere, knew things he didn't know about, and he couldn't help but feel insecure about it. "Oh... err… where did you learn that? Who told you?"

Psywave's laugh died after he heard the question, his face torn with sudden worries. He hadn't expected that question, nor was he ready to answer it. For a moment, he considered lying, but it wouldn't be something nice to do. Beside, Sparktail deserved to know, didn't he? Before saying it, he pushed Sparktail back into the grasses with his muzzle, making sure he was not distracted by the vegetarian pokemon anymore. "Sparktail... I know because you do. You told me long ago, remember?" cryptically said Psywave, his stare fixed on the other pikachu.

As a reply, Sparktail simply looked away shyly. He wasn't only feeling insecure anymore. Not only did Psywave know things he didn't knew about, but also things he was supposed to know, but that he hadn't the slightest idea about for some reason. The many unknowns made it a bit scary. "No... I don't remember saying that. I never met you before. I was with my human having fun. If I knew it before, I would remember. I remember everything." he said, trying to justify himself more than anything. As scary as it was, he wouldn't let this pikachu tell him what to think and remember. His memories were his.

"Those memories are not yours, Sparktail." Psywave said, as if he read his mind. Glaring back at the rodent with a frown, Sparktail started muttering 'How do you...', but he was interrupted. "Yes... I know what you think. My name isn't Psywave just because I felt like calling myself that. Unlike some people, Sparktail, or should I say, Rick, I don't go around like a fool, doing whatever I want just for kicks." It stated, in a voice that was filled with a sudden aura of bitterness. "You don't remember, right? Yeah... of course you don't. The memories are gone, disappeared. Or rather, I simply put them away for a while, in a little treasure chest of joy. See how nice it is? How dumb you are suddenly? Isn't that wonderful? Probably not for you... but it is for me."

Upon hearing these insults, Sparktail decided that glaring wasn't an option anymore. Psywave was being mean, and like anyone who was mean to him recently, he needed to be taught, using strength, about who was the dominant male. He charged up his cheeks, but his adversary had another plan. "Woo, calm down, Sparky! You will be happy to know that I can make them return as easily as I can tell the cubic root of 27." He said, backing away from him. "I should probably ask you for the permission to do that but... oops! I already put them back! Sorry!" he added, with a smirk.

This tone was bordering on insulting and mocking and even Sparktail wouldn't have let that slip away unpunished. However, things didn't go that way. As soon he made a step toward Psywave, he felt like his head was squashed under a one-ton block. He tried to shake it away, but it was no use. In less time than it took for the pain to appear, he was bent on the ground, holding his hands with both paws. As hard as moving was, thinking became impossible. His mind, nearly empty moments before, was being filled with more memories and facts than his small brain could take. They all piled and mixed together, a flow of those random ideas and facts flying back into his conscious mind, with a resulting meaning that would have taken years to decipher. Whatever was truly happening in his head, it was the worst feeling he had ever felt. It was unbearable. "Arghh!!! Stop it! Stop! Argh!!!"

As good of an effort it was, screaming didn't stop it. Like with alcohol, time had done its dirty work before any hope of freedom came to him. It lasted only twenty seconds, but each of them seemed like painful hours of suffering. When it was over, a rodent was down to the ground, but a new person had risen from the ashes. "Argh... it... hurt like hell... you're a public danger, you know that? Hurting people like that... Argh… err... wait!" he interjected while clumsily returning to a two pawed position, glaring at Psywave, whose face was suddenly… very familiar. "Hey! I know who you are! You're that annoying pikachu from my nightmares! I hate you! Always ruining my fun!" he screamed at the evil pikachu. It didn't perturb Psywave, whose calm was almost unsettling. He did react, but all it was that trademark smirk of his flashing across his muzzle again. "I'm not ruining your fun, Sparktail, but giving you a message I can feel those thoughts floating around your mind right now... you're wondering about why you were acting like a dumb pikachu. I'm going to send you back the question: Why do you think you were acting like that?" He asked calmly, glaring intensely back at Sparktail.

The rodent broke the stare, looking down at the ground, teeth bared. This rodent knew the exact way to fuel his anger while making him so confused that he had to stop himself from doing anything, only to think. How dare he read his mind like this? Why was he giving him more reasons to hate him? Did he enjoy being hated? It was so annoying. But... he hadn't been wrong in asking him this question. Why was he acting like that? It was pointless, though. He had absolutely no idea why. The most he could figure out was that it was how he would act, had his human mind not been there. He would be a stupid, instinct driven rodent. He wasn't like this... so why bother telling him that? What was the point of it?

"The point of it, dear Sparktail..." Psywave started, almost grinning. "... I told you already. There's a message in it. I'm not going to give you its meaning so easily, because, between you and me, you know it already. You might deny it as much you want, but the facts remain there. This... reality... this... dream... its not so far away from you. I'm going to show it to you again. Look at it closely, Sparktail, look at it, and tell me what you see. I dare you, if only for a moment, to deny the fact that this dumb rodent, this low-life creature, is not you." As he finished, the world around them flickered, the small lake back into view again. This time, however, Sparktail and Psywave had no physical body to enjoy it in. Instead, they were floating like ghosts over a sleeping pikachu, who was, once again, waking up. A familiar scenario played in front of Sparktail's eyes, as the rodent moved, looking for Jen. During all that time, all the rodent's thoughts were heard... and their words were painfully clear. "So... let's see... here you are, looking for your trainer, missing her somewhat. Of course, you don't care. You don't have any reason to miss her, do you? You are probably too human for that. In fact, why don't I make you just forget about who she is? She's useless to you, anyway." He said, closing his eyes, as if he was doing intense mental work.

"Wait!" Sparktail shouted, closing his eyes to think about it. Yes... he would miss her. Of all the humans he saw, she was the only one who seemed nice. As much he would like to deny it, he couldn't stay alone. He needed someone to understand him. Bill and Oak failed at this, and this girl was his only hope now. "I guess I would... but it doesn't--" he said, trying to justify himself, but Psywave interrupted him, as the "past" Sparktail reached the field. "And now... I see that you are looking curiously at those pokemon, wondering why they are eating grass." For once, Psywave couldn't help but chuckle a bit, followed by Sparktail, who cracked a smile. "Yeah... it was pretty stupid. I mean, I know that some pokemon eats grass, it's--"

"Obvious.", the other pikachu rashly said, cutting him off. "But... if you didn't know about that, and met this kind of situation, what would you do?" he asked with a grin, already knowing the answer. This answer, Sparktail knew it too, and, considering that Psywave was reading all his thoughts, he didn't even bother saying it, waiting for the other mouse to talk, which he did without too much delay. "Yes... you would observe them until you found out why, which is what you were doing before I interrupted you. This is yet another thing that you and this pikachu share. Those seem to be getting common, here. Now, this question is quite tricky. Is that pikachu acting like you, or are you acting like this pikachu?"

Psywave's question was followed with a change in the fabric of the world around them, which vanished again and remained a black void. The poor confused rodent in front of him listened to the question, but nothing, not even the trace of an answer, was coming to his mind. That Pkachu was obviously him... he was acting like he would, had he had limited intelligence and knowledge. But was he this pikachu? They did share some similarities, but inside, he stayed human. Nothing in his mind was pikachu. Sure, there were some instincts, but those didn't really count. It wasn't much different than being angry at people sometimes. But that didn't make one a psychopath. At worst, those instincts were only little obstacles that came with his body and affecting his mind a bit, nothing big. His mind, his human mind, it was still there. He felt it. His memories might have been altered, some gone, but they still talked about him. The human him. No, he wasn't this pikachu. He would never be.

"That's an interesting concept you got here: fate. It has been discussed for so long, and yet, no one knows if it really exists. So… you think you know more than everyone? That you know that you will never become this pikachu? Wow! Your ability to guess the future is impressing! I suppose you also knew that you were going to become a pikachu. Or that the humans would be playing games with you. In fact, you probably are just toying with me right now, Mr. Omniscient!" His sarcastic tone didn't let Sparktail stay calm, as he began to growl at him. Anger was precisely what he needed. "Though, I must admit that I think that you probably won't fall to the pikachu side... but what if it was to happen? What if... that was your future? Did you ever consider the possibility? You didn't, obviously. It will be your fall, Sparktail, it will be your fall. The ship is sinking, and you are going down with it instead of saving yourself. I will be nice and tell it right now: this future, is your future. It is your fate. You are doomed. You are destined to become nothing but a useless rodent! That's pretty nice to know, I'm sure." The pikachu laughed, his voice mocking and taunting. "The king is dead. All hail your new king, the great Sparktail! Hail Sparktail!" As if to add to his play, an invisible crowd tagged along, chanting "Sparktail! Sparktail! Sparktail!"

This was too much for one guy. He wouldn't stand for lies like this! "No! It's not true... it's not... stop it! I'm not Sparktail! I'm not!" the rodent screamed, but the crowd only chanted louder. Panicked, Sparktail lunged at Psywave, ready to strike, but the rodent vanished, leaving him to float alone in an empty void. "Psywave! Come back here, you lying coward! Come back here! If you're a real chu, you'll come back here and fight me like one I'm going to destroy that smirking face of your!" His threat were heard, but not returned. As he shouted random threats, the crowd around him became silent. The next show was about to start, as another "movie" was appearing in front of him. It showed him, around many pikachu, eating a berry like any animal would do. Next to 'him', was a female pikachu, feeding a few Pichu. 'He' wasn't bothered at all by it, and calmly finished his berry, then, after giving the pikachu a lick on her cheek; 'he' left with males, going on some random duty. It then looped back to the beginning, acclaimed with happy cheers from the crowd. This was truly a scene of horror that Sparktail was watching. "No! It's not my future! It's not! No! Stop enjoying it! It's wrong! You're all insane!" He shouted, but it was no use. His screams died into the void, his mind leaving this place. It was time to go

-----

Rick opened his eyes and stared blankly around him. It had happened again... this dream had come back to haunt him... again. Since he had left with Jen, two days ago, he had had this dream three times... Twice this night. Each time, it kept getting darker. The first time, he found it entertaining. He was somewhere new, as a pikachu, trying to find Jen, and playing around while looking for her. The dream had ended when the Psywave interrupted him. It was fun and it wouldn't have been the first time he had had a dream about being some kind of pokemon and acting like one, as those were frequent when he was human. Of course, the situation was much different now, as dreaming about being a pikachu was something to be expected from a pikachu, but it didn't change the fact that he had taken it as a normal dream. The only notable difference was how realistic they seemed now and how confident that pikachu, which was supposed to be him, was.

The second time, though, it had been a bit weirder. It went on pretty much like the first time. He got to meet this nice pikachu named Psywave, he talked with him, and he seemed nice. This had been more interesting, by far, until the other pikachu started saying weird things about him. He didn't like to be questioned like this about his actions and he had been about to show the rodent what it cost to go against him, but he didn't get far. As soon he felt the memories returning and crushing his brain, he was forced to wake up. This was earlier that night. At the time, it had seemed like there was something really scary deeper in the dream. So much that, for a moment, he had thought about staying awake to avoid seeing the rest of that dream, but sleepiness brought him back there, for a third time.

He saw it all this time. He could only shiver when thinking of it. This Psywave, this annoying rodent, he was doing something to his mind. He was controlling his dreams like a puppeteer pulls the strings of his puppet. His every move, his every action, all seemed calculated and planned, in such a way that he was leading him somewhere. Where? Did he want to make him crazy? If not, he was at least making him confused. Despite being the most provoking creature he ever had the chance to meet, it was impossible to classify him as either good or evil. He was despicable, yes, but he had something to say, though its meaning had yet to be found. The scariest thing of all was how close Psywave was to giving him the answer, but how he never wanted to say it. What was there to hide? After all, if it was only about him losing his mind to a pikachu body, he didn't need him to tell him that. He had known about it since he first laid his eyes on that apple at Bill's. As it was, he had no plan to stay like this all his life. He already devised a plan to get out of trouble. There was no way it would fall. All he needed was a bit of luck.

Going out of his questioning state for now, Rick looked around him, smiling. His mind might be something that he doubted to be sane, but his body, on the other paw, was perfectly fine. First of all, he was sleeping on a blanket instead of inside a pokeball. In fact, he had never seen its inside at all; neither any of those hallucinations inside it. He luckily hadn't had enough time for that to happen. As soon his human left Oak's nest, she let him out of the ball, and hadn't put him back in it yet. Even better, he hadn't been forced to do any training! In fact, the first day had been short. Jen walked out of town, with Sunny and him tagging along, and then she fell asleep on the floor in the forest. He had thought about running away and trying to find Bill's lab by himself, but he was curious about how this girl would treat him and act around him, knowing all she did about him. This had turned out to be the best decision he had made all day. The quality of care he was getting had been unprecedented. Yesterday, like today, she let him sleep on a blanket with Sunny, but inside a tent... only for them! While they had all this space, Jen chose to sleep outside the tent, in a portable bed. This alone was enough to make him stay a bit longer. She was giving him the royal treatment. He would have been stupid not to use it for his own enjoyment. It wasn't like he was getting addicted or anything like that.

The second day had been a copy-paste of the first. During the whole day, they stayed in the same spot and not much happened, though some things had been slightly disturbing. One morning, Jen had felt nice and decided to let them do whatever they wanted, though she strongly suggested that they play with her other pokemon to get to know them. Sunny didn't hesitate and played with the two other pokemon, while he sat against a log and watched them. He would have played with them, but since he had been given the opportunity to act normally, he wasn't going to screw it up by acting like a pokemon. Not that the temptation hadn't been eating him inside, but he was able to hold himself together. Trying to force away the inner conflict, he examined the behavior of these two new pokemon.

The first thing he noticed was how friendly they were, at first. When he dug more into them though, he saw that all was not pretty under the surface. One of them, a female meganium, was bossy around everyone, especially Sunny. It was the kind of pokemon that took battling too much to heart and made everyone else feel bad about not being as good as her. This was proven right after lunch, when Jen organized a battle between her two pokemon to show Rick and Sunny how well her two pokemon could fare in a fight. The meganium, Leafty, fought her friend, a blue mouse named Steamer, and easily won. So easily it had seemed like a joke. The blue mouse had tried to run around the larger pokemon to confuse her, but he had been stopped by the vines that came out of Leafty. Those vines grabbed the poor mouse and threw him violently against a tree, ending a fight that had only lasted a few seconds at most. The only ways Rick could interpret what he saw was either that Leafty was someone who didn't care about her friends' safety, or that everything was a ploy to show off strength she didn't really possess.

Either way, it had given some of the desired results. While Sunny was impressed by how strong Leafty was, eager to fight against Leafty, and convinced that she would fare better, Rick had been less excited about it, much less. Even if the blue mouse insisted that he had not been hurt that much and that it was part of battling, Rick had been shocked by how violent a fight could be when seen up close. This was really not the right way to make him like those fights. Neither had growling at Leafty to protect Steamer helped him to be seen as a friendly pokemon, when it happened. To put it simply, Leafty ignored him and Steamer hadn't really liked that someone had tried to protect him, making him look weaker Fortunately, Jen had been far more understanding about his stance and had given him some nice petting to make him feel better, then fed him an apple. These things had nearly made him forget about the battle, but it hadn't cooled his anger.

What did was Jen telling him that he was free to choose if he wanted to battle or not, and that choosing not to wouldn't make her consider him as inferior. She added, however, that he would have to try it at least once before he was allowed to choose. It had seemed fair: tomorrow, he would try battling, he would suck at it and he would be free from it without any consequence. Knowing that he wouldn't enjoy it wouldn't make him botch the ritual either. If anything, he would be able to understand more about the fight and why some pokemon, like Jen's, liked it. That was one side of it that he never experienced… all he had seen in a fight before was pokemon getting hurt. Obviously, for some to like it; there had to be something more than pain that they get out of it. And… who knows? Maybe he would enjoy it too.

He was not without the knowledge, though, that he was different from other pokemon. He was someone unique and he wouldn't fall that easily to the traps that this body was using. It was not without risks for his current role as a normal pokemon, as he quickly noticed. As instructed by the old human, his newest human friend had spent some time watching him and writing things on paper. Apparently, kicking rocks with his foot paw to make them hit other rocks (and Leafty once, by "mistake") was not a normal game. Normal or not, it had been a game he enjoyed while he had been angry about training. Another thing she noticed, later that day, was how easily pokemon seemed to be drawn to him. As soon the argument about battling was over, Steamer came to him and shared some of his food with him, as did Leafty, a bit forcefully. To pokemon, food sharing is one of the most highly respected rituals of friendship, as food is usually rare in the wild. Even if he had mostly forgotten about that little fact, his body had reminded him in the form of a few involuntary sparks of nervousness when food sharing happened.

To Rick, it had been strange, but what had not been since he became a pokemon? He could comfort himself by knowing that he had more fun today than he had been two days ago, if he excluded his nightmares. And it could be more fun tomorrow, if training did bring something positive, like Jen claimed. At this point, it would be up to her to make sure he would be alright, until his plan came to fruition. This was what he concluded as he went back to sleep, lying both on the soft blanket and against Sunny's warm body, a position that was more than acceptable since it was cold outside. Relaxing, his thoughts went to Jen. Poor girl, sleeping alone in the cold… if only she hadn't locked them inside the tent, he would be sleeping next to her instead, keeping her warm. He could only hope that she would still be alright, as he his mind slipped back into the darkness.


	9. Morning Talk

**Good new, everyone! Chapter 9 is here already! Whoo! Chapter 10 might not come so fast, because, while I have nothing to do, it seems that my laptop died on me... again... so I can't write like I would want to. Anyway, here comes the review response section.**

**Foxyjosh: Yeah... life is strange sometime. I'm sure you wouldn't sleeping with Sunny. I wouldn't mind sleeping with my favorites electric rodents (look at my plushes) Oh... I already do. Oh well... I would say more, but I'm tired, so...**

**Kirby: We are working on grammar stuff right now. Tyler is sorry for not looking at it more thoughtfully. And Magic is happy now. Yeah. Oh, and Psywave is not a manipulative son of a mitch, he's just a weirdo. (throw Psywave a rock)**

**StormFang: Oh... I thought I said that those zero word reviews were not funny anymore. I'm sure I did. Yeah... really, I'm not happy about that, but since I'm nice, I won't make a fuss about it. I guess I should be happy about you still reading this story. Yeah... that's what I will do. So, yeah, have a nice day... or something.**

**Ok... those responses were bad, but I blame my 21th birthday party and a bad cough. Sue me. Anyway... enjoy this chapter! (fall asleep)**

**Chapter 9: Morning Talk**

The sun rose over the Kantoan Mountains, its early rays finding their way between leaves and branches, faintly illuminating the forest floor. This time of day was the one chosen, by many pokemon, to awake and begin their daily duties. Many species of pokemon held to this rule and, unfortunately for our particularly grumpy pikachu friend, fire breathing foxes were a part of that group. Even more unfortunate for him, was that among all the foxes in the forest, one that was particularly annoying happened to be sleeping inside the same tent as him, cuddled up against his pikachu body.

As as soon the ball of light had appeared in the sky, the immobile body of the young fire creature took in every ray of light the sun could provide, processing it into pure energy to fuel her fire producing organs. Acting as a biological alarm clock, this surge of energy instantly made the vulpix jump out of her sleep, her brain instinctively choosing the actions she would execute. Being young and unconcerned about matters like the immediate well being of those around her, none of those actions took into account the fact that Rick was still sleeping nearby. Of course, this meant that the pikachu was the one to pay for her lack of thought. After examining her surroundings to make sure it was still safe around her, Sunny stood up on four paws, ready to begin a day she knew would be good. Being the happy-go-lucky vulpix she was, she just had to talk about it in a way that showed that the word "discretion" was not in her vocabulary. "Oh! The ball of light is here! It's here! Today, I will battle Leafty! It will be so much fun! I will make fire and win!"

To make it worse, she noisily ran around Rick while talking ecstatically, doing nothing to help the electric mouse's sleep. Obviously annoyed by the vulpix's voice, Rick thrashed in his sleep, pawing at an invisible enemy, enough so that it got Sunny's attention. Her ears perking up in surprise, she curiously glanced at Rick, giggling as he seemingly fought the tent's wall. "Sparktail, the nest is not a pokemon. You don't have to fight it. You are a very strange mouse." Amused by his behavior, Sunny stopped running and stared at the sleeping pikachu for some time.

Her patience had its limits, though. As enjoyable as it was to look at him, she eventually wanted to play; and Sparktail was playing with the wall, not her. Feeling rejected, she approached him, intent on nuzzling him so he'd notice her. However, inside the imaginary dream world of Rick's mind, that action wasn't exactly perceived as being the same. In his dream, he was fighting against Leafty and losing badly. The meganium had him pinned against a tree with her vines and was staring at him with a mix of hatred and lust to kill. It looked like she was going to kill him, until he heard a loud rumbling to his left. Turning his head swiftly, he saw Sunny walking toward him, claws extended, grinning widely. Her eyes, lit by the faint light of a red sunset, flashed with hunger. He could see that she was sizing him up, choosing which part of him she would eat first. He was going to be fox food and there was no way to escape it! "No! Sunny! It's me! Sparktail! Your friend! Please, don't eat me! Please!"

His panicked voice startled the real Sunny, who stepped away from his sleeping body. Her instincts told her that something was wrong with him, but not what was wrong with him. She had never tried to eat him, or even hurt him, so his accusations didn't make any sense. All she wanted to do was to play with him! Confused and worried. Sunny lowered her head, her body shaking. Sparktail had complained before, but now, it didn't feel right. "Sparktail? Are you ok? It's not funny… you are scaring me. I… I just want to play! I won't eat you, I promise! I'm ni--"

She didn't have time to finish. Sparks coming from Rick forced the young vixen to stop and back away some more. "S-Sparktail?" she stuttered shakily, looking down. If Sparktail decided to attack her, she would have no way to avoid it, since she had already reached the wall of the human portable nest. Not that she was scared of being hurt by the small mouse, but she didn't want to lose a friend because of a battle that humans didn't ask them to do. Battles asked by humans were fun, because they knew when they should stop, but a real battle could get bad quickly, since one of the fighters could get angry or hurt and friendships could be instantly destroyed. Her fear of losing a friend was burning her from inside. She could already feel her fur warming up because of it, the wall becoming warmer. This was not good either. One thing she had learned from past experiences was that human things burned easily. If she made heat here, the human nest would burn and her trainer would not be happy. Trapped between her fear to lose a friend in Sparktail and her fear to lose the trust of her trainer, Sunny made the most logical decision. She sat down and kept her body heat at a minimum while heating her mouth. She had many friends, but only one trainer. If she had to lose one of them, it would be Sparktail.

Luckily for both of them, no regretful decision had to be taken, because Rick's dream suddenly took a happy turn. His threat of shocking Sunny and Leafty seemed to have worked, and both pokemon were retreating, scared by the sound his cheeks made. Relieved, he rested his head back on the blanket, about to get into a more peaceful dream, but the strengthening rays of the sun were piercing his defences. He rolled on his side, trying to get away from the sun, but its powerful rays entered the tent, awakening him. "Grr… five more minutes, mom, I'm having a great dream." he whispered softly, covering his eyes with his paws. He wasn't about to let the morning's light ruin his last moment of peace. Not that his choice mattered much. Sunny had other plans for him.

Since Sparktail stopped being threatening and was acting normally again, the vixen approached him, a bit more slowly this time, still intent on nuzzling him. It was the best way to make up after a fight. Stopping a few inches away from him, she poked him with her paw, testing his reaction. None came, other than another soft moan, so Sunny took the liberty to rub against the small mouse, licking him. "Sparktail, it's time to play. Get up! The ball of light is here!"

That shouting decimated his last line of defense. Groaning loudly, he rubbed his eyes with his paws, cursing under his breath. He now knew where he was and what was going on. That vixen sure knew how to wake him up. It was the second morning she did so, though he reacted a bit better this time. The previous morning, he had tried to bite Sunny under similar circumstances. Considering that he did bite her, though he didn't bite hard, it was easy to conclude that he wasn't someone who was easy to wake up on morning. Looking around groggily, he smiled at his surrounding, not yet fully aware of everything that was going on around him.

All he could say was that the atmosphere inside the human portable nest was weird at this early hour. He was alone, sitting there tiredly, with that pokemon much bigger than him. A pokemon, to whom he was supposed to be prey, who was staring at him with a smile and licking him with her tongue. Had he been more alert, he would have asked Sunny to stop, but his mind was busy with the fact that he was trapped in here. Yes, trapped, since there was no exit out of the nest and there would be none until Jen came to remove the door. Knowing that and how instinctive he acted when he woke up, it was no wonder that he had tried to bite Sunny the previous morning. Trapping a mouse and a fox in a close space was as logical as forcing a sea pokemon to live in a desert, but Jen was one who apparently didn't think highly of the natural feuds that existed in the wild. A pokemon trainer promoting non-violence and peace… he had to see it to believe it. And he was the one who used to think that every trainer was a monster who only wanted pokemon to fight for their personal glory. Well… now he had proof that at least one of them wasn't like that and he had been lucky enough to fall under her care.

Speaking of Jen, he had yet to see her enter the nest to pet them and give them food. Not that he was getting hungry but… yeah… he was getting pretty hungry. Thinking about how his forced partner was supposed to think of him as food did nothing to make him feel sated. He would kill only to get one tasty, sweet and juicy apple. What would happen if he didn't get one this morning? Maybe he wasn't able to do complex calculus anymore, but he knew that Jen's bag could only hold so many apples. Unless there was a place close by where she could get more, she would run out of apple, and he wouldn't have food anymore. This was a good reason to be worried. "Err… Sunny? You think our human will have more apples for me? I would be kind of hungry and sad without one."

The tone of the voice he used to say that was similar to the one of a small children asking for protection, so Sunny reacted positively to it. Finally, it seemed like he had stopped being mean. Now, she was more than happy to help him. Though, at the current moment, that happiness took the form of a great sadness, as if Rick's emotions had rubbed off on her. Bringing her head down to his level, she licked him comfortingly in an effort to remove that feeling of sadness from both of them. "There will be lots of apples for you. And, if there is no apple, you can eat seeds instead. I never ate seeds, because they smell bad, but Steamer ate some before the ball of light vanished, and he said they taste good." She said softly, examining Sparktail for a few seconds. "You look like him, so maybe you will like them too!" she finally spurted out while smiling at him.

That sweet smile… Rick could lose himself in the disturbingly adorable happy expression on the pokemon's face. It was like a cute puppy looking at you during a sunny day. It swept all sour feelings away, leaving only a similar absent-minded smile on your own face. It was that smile that Rick was returning to Sunny, staring at her like he would stare at his mother, completely lost in the cuteness of that dumb, but reassuring creature. All worries were gone, as were any conscious thoughts from his mind. Absorbed by the flow of happy feelings emanating from that smile, his humanity melted away like an ice cube under the hot sun. There was no reason to be worried when you had someone bigger to protect you. Not when someone nice was keeping you away from danger, away from trouble, away from the nightmares. It was a moment that Rick wouldn't try to stop this time, as he instinctively licked Sunny back. "Yeah… seeds will fill my tummy…"

While humanity was playing hide and seek deep inside Rick, the girl outside the tent wasn't slacking off. Awakened by the first rays of the day like her pokemon, the young woman prepared herself for the following day. After doing her morning stretches, she took her bag and walked around the tent, collecting edible berries from bushes.

Like any experienced hiker, she traveled with the bare minimum of fresh food in her bag, though she had her reserve rations in case of an emergency. The only piece of food she kept on her was meat secured inside a sealing container. It was meat she bought before leaving Pallet and that she kept only for feeding Sunny. Anything else, she collected from the woods and ate it the same day. It was not the easiest way to get food, but it was by far the most cost efficient and the safest. Not only that, but it was also a good way to keep in shape. Since she often spent weeks in the woods, away from civilization, where dangerous pokemon could lurk in any corner, one unlucky encounter and being slow to run away could cost you your life.

Living away from people might not be the most glorious life, but it was the one that she had chosen and she wouldn't have traded it for anything else. Even if it prevented her from using her training abilities to their full potential and becoming a known trainer, here, in the wild, she was free to do whatever she wanted to do. Nobody would annoy her with rules. Nobody would try to influence her choices. Here, it was only her, her pokemon and nature in its purest state. This life did have it's downsides. Every time she went into a town, it wasn't easy for her. She wasn't an animal, but she was close to it when it came to social interaction. Every time she was required to do anything that wasn't buying, battling or helping pokemon, she felt totally lost. She acted rashly, often plainly saying what she thought and got into trouble because of it. Other people were simply not worth the time she spent to help them. While humans knew how to defend themselves, there was a lot of pokemon who needed her help more, facing problems, which, unfortunately, were sometime caused by human activities.

Paradoxically to her lack of interest for humanity, when she was traveling in the countryside, she explored every nook, looking for ruins of ancient civilizations. It felt like a holiday each time she found a new one. There were ruins about pokemon, ruins about humans and ruins about anything there could possibly be ruins about. While she told the location of some of them, most were personal treasures for her to keep secret. However, her curiosity about the past would never exceed her desire to know about pokemon. She chose carefully when it came to adding a new pokemon to her team. She considered each of her Pokemon as her equal. If she could have, she would have hundreds of pokemon following her. Alas, she had made a promise to never force a pokemon to do something it didn't want to do. Never would she break apart a family of pokemon just to have one more on her team. Logically, the good of the many came before the good of the few, and a family of pokemon was a cell of life that was not to be broken because of human selfishness. She would not be like those hundreds of trainers who only cared about glory and thought that the life their pokemon lived before it was captured was worth nothing. She did not think that they were only animals that lived to serve them, but rather that it was her duty to make sure they would be safe. It was why she only had two pokemon before Sparktail and Sunny joined her close circle of friends. One was her starter, which had already been separated from her family; and the other was a pokemon whose family had been killed by a pack of Mightyena and that had wanted to join her team. Of course, she had had other pokemon on her team at some points, but she released them all when the moment was right for each of them. Sunny was supposed to become the third member of her team, but what she had gotten with Sparktail was better than anything she had ever expected from that gift.

In a way, Sparktail was living proof that pokemon were not all dumb and stupid like people thought. It was her duty, as a trainer, to make sure that this pikachu would get the best of care that she was able to give. Professor Oak was right in a way: it was a unique opportunity for her, the unique possibility to have a pokemon friend that would truly be able to understand her. She wouldn't let that one slip away. The more she thought about him, though, the more confused she became. Sparktail was no ordinary pokemon, and it went beyond his apparent high intelligence. There was something about him that was fishy. She has seen all kind of pokemon, in various situations and emotional states, but none could compare to how Sparktail was acting. It might seem strange for someone to think like that, but she actually had doubts about Sparktail being a real pokemon.

Through her explorations, she had learned about legends of all kinds. The ones she had heard of often, excluding the traditional ones related to the pokemon of legends, spoke of humans changing into pokemon. Her motto being "every legend has a seed of truth", she was open to anything. Her pikachu's rejection of almost any activity a normal pokemon would be inclined to do was a good hint that maybe those legends weren't only fairy tales. While she would usually have associated this behavior with a fear of meeting new pokemon, there was that little something in the way Sparktail did it that was plainly weird. She just needed more proof. And hopefully, she would get it very soon.

After collecting enough berries for breakfast, Jen walked back to her tent, her hand filled with a good amount of those sweet little fruits. It was time to trade her suspicions for something much more enjoyable: feeding her little friends. Opening the door with her other hand, the girl peek her head inside and gasped at the sight of the two pokemon licking each other. Seeing Sunny and Sparktail fighting playfully the day before had been expected, but this was… disturbing. And cute. But mostly disturbing. Blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming, Jen smiled nervously as she entered and sat next to the pokemon. "Err… slept well, Sparktail?"

The former human, still lost in the petting that the vulpix was giving him, just blankly looked at Jen, that stupid smile still on his muzzle. Hey… his adopted mother was giving him some nice petting, and now that huge funny creature was looking at him. Maybe it would play… it would be nice. Yeah… real nice. That creature looked nice too. And it looked familiar too. Like some distant memories…like… his past? Looking at the creature more carefully, he saw more of those things in his head. Some were bigger and some smaller. One of the smaller ones reminded him of something. It was his childhood, when he was… human? Wait… human? Not pichu? Then, why was he being petted by something that was not a human and why was he… licking her? What was he doing? "What the…"

Shaking his head in frustration from having been tricked yet again, Rick narrowed his eyes at Sunny. "Hey… you are not my mother! You are not human! Stop licking me! Stop that! Stop! Argh!" Angry, he sprung back on his paws and growled at Sunny, his teeth bared. Looking away from the suddenly very mad rodent, Sunny closed her eyes, scared of having done something wrong. Jen, however, didn't look away. Instead, she glared at Sparktail, frowning. "Sparktail, are you alright? You look a bit upset this morning, and it worries me."

Rick sat on the floor, looking disgustingly at his paws. "Upset? Why would I be? I just freaking licked a pokemon! Maybe Psywave was right. I'm losing it! I'm just a dumb pokemon, unable to resist the simplest little comforting licking! Yeah… I'm not upset… I'm just mad, crazy in the head. I think that settle it! Everybody, come and pet the little pikachu here! Just ignore the fact that he was human! Just ignore it!" he screamed at Jen while moving nervously like a madman, his cheeks sparking in rage. Now definitely scared, Sunny retreated behind Jen, shaking a bit. The trainer petted her comfortingly, still trying to maintain her stare on the nervous ball of fur. This wasn't a normal behavior for a pikachu either, but it wasn't time yet to confront Sparktail about it. "Sparktail…" she said, putting a few berries in front of him. "…you aren't making it easy for me. Would you please calm down now? If you want to fight, you can do it later, during your training session. Now, it's time to eat."

This was a huge mistake. He wasn't in a state of mind to be talked to like a little baby. Ironically, he pushed the berries away like one would do, crossing his paws. "I'm not a pokemon, so you can put your petty comments and your tricks where I think they should be!" he harshly growled. Taking advantage of his position, he charged his cheeks, narrowing his eyes at Jen. Completely absorbed by his frustration, Rick didn't notice the bolt of electricity leaving his cheeks, targeting the young woman. Showing no fear, the trainer kept her stare on him and winced in pain when the weak bolt hit her. "Ow! Sparktail! Whatever is going through your head right now, it's no reason to shock me! You have a brain, use it! Getting angry at me won't make you feel any better." She screamed at the pikachu, her voice cold and angry. Irritated, she crossed her arms and stared defiantly at the mouse. "And if you really think it does, go ahead and shock me again. I'm ready to take it."

Weakened by a bolt he didn't quite control and that mostly went through him, Rick panted, pain eating away at his anger. Rick looked weakly at Jen, at her bruises and hair messed up by static electricity, his eyes filled with sorrow. It wasn't really her fault. She couldn't know that he wasn't a pokemon. Even if she wouldn't consider him as the human he had been, it was still his responsibility to be nice to her, as he would be with any other person. If only he had a way of showing her that he was different, things would be easier. Maybe if he got angry less often and focused on his plan, maybe he would succeed in making her see the truth. But, how could he keep his calm when he was acting like an animal without having anything to say about it? He didn't want those instincts, but they were overcoming his will anyway. There was seemingly nothing he was able to do to stop them. Nothing, unless, maybe…

He strengthened his stare on Jen, a smile appearing on his face. "Oh! There's her!" He should have noticed it before, but, in her presence, he was more confident and able to think freely. He only had to see her enter the tent and he had been taken out of that instinct-driven state. She was the key to keeping his mind! He had to stay close to her. More importantly, he had to keep her trust. Obviously, shocking her was the best way to lose it. He would have to get that trust back, even if it implied a bit of self-sacrifice. And maybe a bit of sly emotional trickery.

The last sparks on his cheeks vanishing, the Rick lowered his head and walked close to Jen. His ears were lowered, his tail was even more and that smile on his muzzle was gone. Every element was in place for him to look overly guilty, and the girl fell for it. She removed her arms from her chest, smiling. "It's alright, as long you don't do that anymore." Rick smiled, still walking toward her. He was getting her trust back, but he felt like doing more. In the similar way his pikachu side needed licking before to sooth his worries, his human side needed a way to express his distress. Once near her legs, he climbed on them and went near her torso. Opening his paws and closing his eyes, he threw his body on hers, laying his head against her chest and whimpering softly. Doing the closest he could to crying, he knew that he would look like a weakling, but he didn't care. He needed a moment to empty his emotion tank, a moment to feel like someone was listening to his plead.

Taken aback by the sudden hugging of her pikachu, Jen nervously looked at him, many ideas going through her head. She was trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle, but each time she did, she came to the same disturbing conclusion: that pikachu was not acting like a pokemon. There was no logic in the actions he was doing. He was angry, then smiling, then looking guilty then… hugging her and crying? Not only the sequence made no sense, but his last action was impossible. No pokemon would hug her like this. Pokemon were incapable of hugging. They licked, they nuzzled, they smelt, but they didn't hug. Hugging was an action only humans did. Furthermore, she hadn't failed to notice that his bolt was weak and unfocused, so much that Sparktail got hit by most of it. If that pikachu had grown up in the wild, he wouldn't have survived. She had seen injured pokemon with more survival potential than this pikachu. If he was as brilliant as Oak said he was, he would have known that mastering his electric attacks was the key to his survival. The more she thought about it, the more her farfetched hypothesis seemed to look possible, from a logical point of view. It would explain most of those points. Curiosity burning her inside, she forced Sparktail away from her, receiving a confused look from the pikachu. Breathing slowly, she prepared her question. "Sparktail… I don't understand you… you seem so… different. I never saw a pokemon like you. I know that you are supposed to have high intelligence, but it doesn't quite explain how you act. I have a question to ask you about that and it might seem strange, but, I need to know. Sparktail…" she said, locking eyes with his. "…are you a real pokemon?"

Rick gasped in amazement. Was she really giving him a chance to say the truth? It seemed too good to be real. He wouldn't have expected that, at least, not so soon. That girl must have a crazy imagination or truly be an observant person to make such a bold remark. Either way, he would not lie this time. It was a one-time opportunity he couldn't miss. Keeping his calm, even if he was still whimpering slightly, he slowly shook his head with exaggerated movements to make sure he was understood, though he didn't need that much to get a reaction from the young woman. As soon he began to move, Jen asked her next question, her voice shaking with excitement. "No? Then… were you… human?"

That question was followed by a long moment of silence. She knew. Someone, ready to help him, knew. He was tempted to say yes, but… would that be the right thing to do? If he involved her in all this, wouldn't that be a source of problems for her? If she failed to help him, there would be one person to know that his humanity had vanished and suffering because of it. Then again, what other option was left to him? If he wanted any kind of help, she needed to know. It was a requirement he couldn't avoid. She was the only one he could possibly trust right now. It was a risk he had to take, for his sake. Beside, telling her right now would make him feel so free and so human. Following that logic, Rick nodded happily, while smirking at Jen, as if to say: "Hey, it took you long enough to guess it!'

His joking manner didn't really get to Jen, not as much as the nod itself. The girl looked at Sparktail in awe, eyes wide open. "Oh Arceus… this ... this is the most incredible thing I've ever seen! This is just ... wow..."

-----

"That's intolerable, Mr. Libovsky!" interjected a rude looking man in a green uniform, hitting the desk with his fists, to the image of the scientist in his videophone screen. It was time for his monthly report about his project and what he said didn't look good. "We are under tight delays, Mr. Libovsky, and our budget is not unlimited. We paid a lot for the construction of your lab and the use of rare chemicals and all we asked you was monthly reports that would look at least encouraging. My superiors won't like those new delays of yours!"

The man on the screen, William B. Libovsky, was trying his best to stay calm, but negotiating with this man had proved to be very difficult, if not impossible. When most of your financing came from the army, it was hard to say no to their requests. If he lost their support, years of work would be lost (though he had only seen real advancements since he got their support nearly one year ago). When he was so close to succeeding, it was not an outcome he would want to see. "General, I know how important my project is for the government, but you have to understand. There has been an accident and human lives are at stake here! I can't work on it until the situation has been resolved. Imagine if the affair gets into the public? It would be a catastrophe!"

"A catastrophe? You know what would be a catastrophe? A war with Johto!.Those bastards have been spying on us since that accident a few months ago in one of our bases! If they were to attack us today, we would have no defense! It's not just a few lives on the line here, but thousands! We need your invention to be fully operational as soon as possible. If it doesn't, we will have to rely on the VX project. Think about those poor pokemon!" he added, with slight sarcasm.

The VX project. William shuddered just at the thought of it. While his invention could provide some positive insight on pokemon while serving as a potential weapon, the VX project was nothing but a brutal testing ground where pokemon were butchered for the glory of the Kanto military. Pokemon fought in dog fights, and were tested with almost any chemical the army could find. All of this in hopes of obtaining a breed of pokemon that would be totally obeisant and would be used in great numbers to replace humans in dangerous operations, as well to serve as powerful weapons with their abilities. It was one of the reasons the army had gotten him to work for them. If he provided a fully working prototype within a year, they would put a stop to that project. The other was obviously those threats of a war with their neighbor country. There had been no word about it in the public medias, but, as proved in confidential documents he had been shown, the threat was real. "Alright sir… but I would need two more millions to accelerate the research, the help of some of your scientists and, if possible, a way to peacefully resolve this accident so I don't have to spend time on it anymore. I know it's a lot, but…"

"Granted. But we want the project to be finished within the next two months. And I don't want to hear any questions about how we're going to get rid of your little problem. We shall--" the man started to say, but he was interrupted by Libovsky. "Get rid of? You can't do that! That's… that's… murder!"

The highly graded man looked at his screen, smirking. "Murder? No, it's not murder. We're the army, not the boy scouts! If this incident is a threat to our country; it's our duty to eliminate it. But, if it worries you so much, you can be rest assured that we will not harm these people. We have a way to silence them. Now, Mr. Libovsky, get back to work!"

The discussion ended abruptly, leaving William to stare at the black screen of his videophone. "What have I done?" he said miserably, turning his head to glance at a photo on his desk. He shouldn't have mentioned that accident. He should have found a better lie. Now, it was too late. "I'm sorry… I've failed you."


	10. Troubling Sparks

**Chapter 10 is there! Yay! Being cut off from the computer because of my laptop that died, I rediscovered the amazing power of a pencil, an eraser and sheets of paper. It took me more efforts, but here come the tenth chapter. 10 is an important number, but I'm sure I will be able to reach 20 with ease. Chapter 11 is nearly done as I post this, so I'm on a roll (I'm sure I said that before, but I say it again). ****Special thanks to Tyler for proofreading and Kirby for being the reviewer of the year. Anyway… here comes my favorite section, response to my faithful reviews. I have so much fun writing them each time.**

**Foxyjosh: I will tell you what Mr. Libovsky has planned. It's—(The following content have censured because it contains spoilers. Thanks for your understanding.)…and that's everything that will happen to Mr. Libovsky. Other than that, have fun reading chapter 10.**

**Kirby: Scchh… Oak being Rick's father was supposed to be a secret. Here comes my revenge: Kirby here is Jen's future husband and they will have a daughter named Terra! Ok, enough jokes (though the latter was technically true). About chapter 9 being "deus ex", you are the best placed here to know how Jen thinks, so it shouldn't really be a surprise to you that she reached that kind of conclusion. As for your other review, it was… err… unique. I thought about it, and decided against putting Kagai in as an eevee to please you. We already have Sunny, so another happy-go-lucky creature isn't needed. Anyway, Kagai being Kagai, she wouldn't have the same impact as an eevee, and you know it. So… (stick tongue)**

_**PS: "I" am going out with Darky, so we are even about being with our favorite pokemon. And yes, people here probably understand nothing to our allusions, but that's what makes it funny. (evil laugh)**_

**Tyler: I think you summed up quickly what I think about my characters. (thumbs up) About Jen and Rick/Sparktail sticking together, you should be happy to know that they will probably spent most of the story together. But since I am crazy like Kirby, I may turn around and do something stupid. Be afraid, be very afraid… (more evil laugh) By the way, thanks again for the proofreading.**

**This concludes my review response, so happy New Year and happy reading and happy "a lot of happy things". DPL out!**

**Chapter 10: Troubling Sparks**

"Can you tell me where your home is?" Jen said, laying a map on the tent's floor. It had taken her some time to get over the surprise of discovering that her pikachu was formerly human. Her suspicions were based on old legends, but there was a huge difference between a believing a legend and actually seeing it. She had seen some strange things in her life, which included one or two events she would never tell anyone about, but this would never cease to amaze her. A human turned pokemon! It opened a whole new world of possibilities, and almost as many questions. There was so much that she wanted to ask him, but, unfortunately, she wouldn't get that much by only asking yes/no questions. His range of communication methods was, unfortunately, too limited for something more efficient. Also, there were more important things to take care of. This former human, whoever he was, had fallen under a curse of some kind (she wouldn't try to guess what it was exactly, as it was unlikely there was a reverse curse), and he was probably missing. She couldn't just keep him as her pokemon. It would be like some kind of kidnapping. Morally, the best she could do was to try to find out where he lived and take him there. Maybe he would end up as a pet, but at least, he would be at home, with his family, assuming he had one to start with.

From the rodent's point of view, showing her where his home was wouldn't help him in getting his humanity back. His plan was working too well to give up now. Instead of pointing toward his hometown, he would point toward Bill's lab, so Jen would lead him there thinking it was his home. Once there, he would get into the lab somehow and turn himself back into a human. Once human, he would invite Jen to that place where humans go to eat food when they didn't want to make it themselves and give her some to thank her for helping him. Then, he would shock… err… punch Bill for being mean with him. As simple as this plan was, there were many flaws that Rick had failed to see. Not only was there no way to get into the lab without a magnetic card he no longer possessed, but there was also no way that the machine would allow his transformation back into a human in its current state. After all, where would it get all the mass needed to build a new human body? Not from his tiny pikachu body, that's for sure. Maybe there would be a replacement solution in a couple of months, with some efforts from Bill, but right now, it was impossible.

Technical problems aside, there was something even more important that he hadn't thought about. It became obvious as Jen set the map on the ground for him to check it. He looked at it, squinted his eyes to understand it, but, alas, there was no way for him to read the names of the towns on the map. Like with the computer, they looked like unknown symbols to him, though, this time, he didn't even recognize them as being letters. To him, they were only part of the drawing on the map. It was a pretty drawing, though. Somewhat colorless and complex-looking, but pretty nonetheless. It was this prettiness he was staring at instead of the towns while in his confused state. He could have gotten angry at the fact he wasn't able to read, but he already knew that. If anything, he could have shocked himself for forgetting about what the letters meant, but staring at the map was funnier and it kept the frustration away from his mind.

He wasn't the only one who was enjoying staring at the map. The small fiery fox was looking at it too, enjoying the sight. She had never seen something like this before. It was big like a sleeping ground, but it was too thin to be comfortable. It had some kind of pattern with many colors on it. Most of it was like leaves, but some was like ground, and there was a lot of the sky in the middle and around it. Seeing that mysterious thing had been just what she needed to remove any remaining bad feelings about what had happened. Scared at first by how mean Sparktail had been when he hurt their human and confused by the things he had said, she now felt sad when she saw how her human only wanted to play this "ask pokemon a lot of things" game with Sparktail. She would have liked to have played that game too, but her human wouldn't let her, or even pay attention to her. It made her so sad that she ate all the berries that were left on the ground instead. The berries tasted good, but this new game with the strange sleeping floor seemed even better. Since Sparktail had pointed at a lot of places on the colorful floor, she put her paw on one of those spots randomly, glancing curiously at the pikachu. "There?"

Thrown out of his daydreaming by Sunny's annoying, high-pitched voice, Rick glanced at where she was pointing. From the look of it, it seemed to be town with water near it. "Water… oh! There was water near where the human I know lived! Maybe it's there!" he said excitingly, putting his paw on the same spot.

Jen sighed. It had taken some time, but her pikachu had finally given her something. For a moment, she feared that he wasn't able to read a map. "So… you lived in Vermilion? Ironic... I heard the forests around there are famous for their pikachu population." She told him, giggling a little at her observation. Not that Rick cared.

It wasn't funny at all. He had heard of that town, but it wasn't the right one! His town had a different name. Something ending with the "ulean" sounds, or something similar to it. Moving Sunny's paw away from the town, he shook his head at Jen, before turning his head back to the map. Where could that town be? He looked at every corner of the map, but nothing seemed familiar. He knew it was a map of Kanto, but yet, it was a total blank in his mind. "Where is it?" he spurted out angrily, his tail becoming tensed and raised, and his ears flattened. Slowly, his thoughts shifted to how he would shock whoever made that map for putting names on it instead of little pictures he would have been able to understand.

"Alright…" Jen quickly replied, noticing how tensed Sparktail was becoming. Something was bothering him about that map. He hadn't pointed to his town yet and was looking at it like if it was some kind of enemy. She had to help him somehow. "…you chose the wrong town. Don't worry, it happens. Everybody makes mistakes. Hum… I've got a better idea. I'll say the name of the major towns and cities in Kanto, and you stop me when I say the name of the closest one to your home. Okay? Alright…Pallet, Cinnabar…"

Naming towns? This was a pretty good idea. Finally something the former human was able to do without putting his entire mind to it. All he had to do was sit there and listen as she said the names touching different points on the map as she spoke. Saffron, Viridian, Cerulean, Pew… "Wait… Cerulean?" he asked himself. That name sounded the same as the one in his mind. It could very well mean that it was the same town!

Hopping back on two paws, he pointed at the map, looking at it as if it were an apple. "That's Cerulean! It's where I need to go! Lead me there! I would be so happy!" For the first time since he was turned into a pikachu, he truly felt happy about something. It wasn't the primitive happiness of eating food or sleeping well, but rather the one of getting closer to the only thing that mattered to him. After all, Sunny could disappear for no reason or Jen could be injured, but as long he got turned back into a human, he could care less about them. His humanity and life were on the line here, not theirs.

What he didn't know, was that this burst of exaggerated happiness and excessive primitive reactions were mostly caused by his metabolism. Since he had been deprived of happiness often lately, it took this opportunity to get some. It was a known fact that Pikachu are naturally happy and caring creatures. It was one of the reasons they were so popular as pets. What was less known, was that they needed a daily dose of endorphins, created by happiness, to stimulate the production of chemicals in their electric sacs This was true for every electrical rodent, and Rick was no exception. Once again, he felt his humanity about to leave his brain to be replaced by blissful innocence.

"Oh… Pewter… that town's not too far away. We should get there in no time… sadly." Jen said reluctantly, looking at the excited pikachu. He seemed happy to go back home. To tell the truth, she wanted to spend more time with him. Maybe she had hoped that he had no family. Then she could keep him. These were selfish thoughts and she felt bad for having them, but Sparktail was too unique to be let go of so quickly. There were so many questions she had to ask him, and so little time. But more than that, she would lose a potentially good friend. Sure, he was a former human in the body of an electric mouse, but it didn't make him any lower than anybody else. If anything, it made him someone braver, as she doubted that this transformation had been intentional, nor did she think it had been easy for him.

While Jen was busy with her internal musing, Rick stopped moving, her words reaching him, with a very different effect than expected. "Pewter?!?" he said, abruptly escaping from the tightening grip of his pikachu side. "What the…? It was Cerulean! Cerulean! Not Pewter! I screamed it at least…" he tried to say something, but the last ten seconds seemed clouded in his head. It took a good half-second of thinking to get those memories back. "Err… at least two times! Are you deaf? Err… oh… stupid pikachu language!"

His sudden irregular movements and the louder tone of his voice got to Jen, who looked at him again, confused. What was he trying to say now and why on this angry tone? There was nothing in what she said to make him angry. Everything she said had been good, unless she had missed something. "Is something wrong? You're happy to go home to Pewter, right?" she asked him, almost wishing for a no.

Rick shook his head, looking around for a way to show her. He was pathetic. He couldn't write, he couldn't read, he couldn't… "The map! She pointed the town! Which is…" he said, trying to remember the exact spot. "Hum… there!" he shouted, moving his paw to point at the seaside town of Cerulean.

He also tried to move there to make his point stronger, but Sunny was quicker. Thinking it was still part of the game, the happy vixen ran there as soon Rick had designated the area, putting her paw on the town. "I won! I got there first! I won!"

Rick might have lost whatever game Sunny thought they were playing, but he won understanding from Jen, whose face shined in realization. "Oh! Did you mean Cerulean?", she asked, waiting for Sparktail's nod before continuing. "I'm sorry, I thought you meant Pewter. This changes everything. First of all, it means it will take longer to get there. At least a week, if not a week and a half. It will depend on weather. However…" she said a bit nervously, putting her finger on a heavily forested area south of Mt Moon. "To make it quicker, we'll have to go through those woods. I would have gone anyway, but I only want to warn you that it might be a hard trip. That forest is one of the most dangerous in the country. You might not like it, but you are too inexperienced with your electric attacks to go there. So, I'll give you a choice. You can safely spend the whole time there in your pokeball, or, you can train with me today until you're at least able to throw a bolt without shocking yourself. Then, I'd allow you to stay outside your ball."

After she had finished her speech, both pokemon were looking at her with a half-scared, half-surprised expression. They were used to seeing her being so soft and nice. It was something completely new to see her talk to Sparktail like she would to a human. She had said her thoughts freely, without hiding anything. Moreover, the tone of her voice was so cold, emotionless and dominating that it made them almost doubt that she had been nice in the first place. All of this, however, was gone only a moment later, as she took a nice and comforting voice again, probably to persuade Sparktail of making the choice she wanted him to make. "I know training might not be a fun thing, but will you train with me? I'll make it easy for you, if you listen to me. It could be a lot of fun for both of us!"

Rick blinked a few times, stunned. This girl had worse mood swings than he did. He wasn't entirely sure if he was impressed or scared, not that it mattered much. Understanding the opposite gender was not exactly his first priority right now. She had threatened to send him back into his pokeball if he didn't train. This was the real threat. It was so much of a dilemma that he had to sit on the map to think about it. While going back in that awful place was absolutely out of the question, training didn't seem that appealing either. It could take many tries before he successfully launched an attack. He would probably get hurt a lot. However, he was able to control his electricity in the pokeball, but that meant meeting Psywave again. He hated that thing so much that he wasn't about to fall into its claws on purpose.

In the end, it was his hate of Psywave that forced him to nod, which was immediately followed by a strong reaction from Sunny. "Yay!" she screamed, running close to Sparktail. "Will you train with me too? I'm good! It will be fun!"

Rick forced a smile at first and then chuckled at the whole strange situation he was in. A fox wanting to train a mouse; this set a new record on the scale of absolute awkwardness. "Well, Sunny, I'm sure you are good, but I'm not. I'm just a weak little pikachu. Unless you want to be the target for my training, I don't see how you could help me. If your idea of training is battling, then, I admit it; you've already won the battle. You can watch me train though. That will be fun too." His answer was followed by a smile, one of those smiles he knew would melt her heart and make her stop bothering him, which it did.

The fox pokemon smiled back, happy both about his smile and the fact that she was stronger than him. It made her day. "Oh! I'm stronger? Yay! Now I'm so strong that beating Leafty will be easy! Maybe I will get more food for beating her. Mmm… food!"

While Sunny was happily running around, screaming about how strong she was; Jen gave Sparktail more berries, seeing as they were all gone, for obvious reasons. Then, while Sparktail was eating them, she tried to teach Sunny about sharing food, but the fire pokemon wasn't really listening. She did succeed in trading the vixen's smile for a more or less guilty face, but that only lasted as long as it took Sunny to lick Jen. The trainer just faked a smile and petted the fox pokemon. She wasn't really in the mood for arguing with her new pokemon anyway. She had a mouse to train, and it wasn't going to be easy, knowing that there was a human hiding behind it. True, she wasn't actually sure about Sparktail being 100 human, but being technical, she felt like she would be training someone in the army, especially since Sparktail was so inexperienced. She would try to throw those feelings away, as they were only human instincts. After all, she had helped pokemon who were worse than him.

After Sparktail was done with his berries, Jen went outside, her pokemon in tow. Walking slowly in the early morning light, she led them to a small clearing. It was only a little place with low grass that featured a large rock in the middle of it, but it would be ideal for their training. Making sure she was still being followed, Jen went to the rock and climbed on top of it, then looked at her pokemon below. The size of the rock and its steep slanted surface prevented them from climbing, at least from that side. "Ok, since this training session is your first, and you don't seem to know anything about battling, your target won't be anything living or even moving. Instead…"

While she was talking, she opened her bag and took out a small rubber ball. "…we will use this ball. It's electricity-proof, heat-proof and protected against many other kind of attacks. That's why it's perfect for this, but, since I only have one, I will make sure nobody leaves with it." She said in low tone, glancing at Sunny. The last thing she needed was to have the vulpix thinking that it was a toy (even if she usually used it as such) and playing keep-away with it away. Looking around her, she found a small piece of rock, the perfect diversion, and showed it to Sunny. "So, I thought that you might like to play with this toy instead. You can do anything you want with it… as long you get it first!" she added, with a sly smile.

Making sure she had the vixen's attention, which was nearly a given, the girl threw the rock in the grass behind her. Tricked by the appealing opportunity to get a toy all to herself, Sunny took off as soon the rock left her trainer's hand. "It will be mine, Sparktail!" Rick obviously didn't follow her, seeing as this was only a trap to make her go away. It had been tempting, though. That rock did look like a sweet toy that could be kicked around, but he knew that he had to resist and do whatever training Jen had in mind for him. Probably something involving shocking that ball, he guessed.

"Alright, now that Sunny is playing, our training can begin." She stated, taking the ball in her hand and throwing it in front of Sparktail, who stepped back a little, scared of being hit. "The first thing you need to do is to stop staring at that ball, since you won't be shocking it yet."

Rick raised an ear in confusion. He wouldn't be shocking the ball? This was unexpected, to say the least. Why taunt him with it if he wasn't going to train with it? If anything, it made him curious about what she had actually planned. As soon he looked back at her, she spoke again, intent on clearing up some of that confusion displayed on his muzzle. "You don't see anyone riding a Lapras without knowing how the Lapras will react, do you? So it would be pretty stupid of me to let you shock things without you knowing how to, don't you think? Before you seriously attempt anything, you need to feel the pikachu sleeping inside you. You need to get in touch with those abilities of yours. Just sit down, relax and feel your body talking to you. Like this."

Pushing her bag aside, Jen laid down on the rock, her eyes now closed, and began to breathe slowly. It was just barely loud enough for Rick to hear it. It was obvious that she was doing this only to persuade him to do the same, but he found the whole idea ridiculous. He didn't see how relaxing in the grass would make him better at fighting. Sure, he had relaxed before, when he had been near that wall in the cage, and yes, it made him feel closer to the sensations felt by his body, but it hadn't made him more able to use his electric attacks. He knew, however, that failing to fulfill her request would mean that he would be spending some quality time in his pokeball. Resigned, he calmly lay on his belly in the grass and closed his eyes, waiting for the 'magical' power of relaxation to come into play.

Like the last time he closed his eyes to relax, his four other senses seemed to improve by the absence of sight. He smelt the delicate aroma of flowers nearby, he was tickled by the comfortable bed of grass he was laying on, he tasted the wet air and he heard Sunny running not too far away. As exciting as it was to feel all of those, there was apparently more to learn if he gave the sensations coming from inside of him a chance to be felt. Eliminating the external signals, he set his mind on those closest to him. At first, he heard the sounds of his own breathing, then the pulsing of his heart. Then, he felt the sensation of blood being pumped away from the same heart at a steady rate. As he relaxed more, he felt the electrostatic substances move inside his cheeks. His cheeks… the heart of the whole problem, those mysterious organs about which a better understanding was required. As soon he turned his attention to them, a strange new wave of sensations came to him.

They weren't sensations he was able to describe using the five senses he knew, but yet, he was feeling something. It wasn't something that was mysterious to his Pikachu side, though. His eyes were closed, but he was able to 'see' movement close to him. It wasn't the wind moving grass or leaves, but rather the movement of millions of microscopic negative particles known as electrons. He was feeling their constant movements and the faint electrical waves they inherently created. They were moving in great number in his cheeks, inside his body and in smaller quantity in the air around him. Amazed by this surprising sixth sense that he had ignored for so long, a wild idea came into his mind: if he was able to feel electricity, maybe he could attract and manipulate it.

Thinking strongly about attracting electric charges to him, he felt the substance in his cheeks activating, flows of electrons from all sides slowly floating toward them. This was when something weirder happened, something even his pikachu side didn't understand. For some unknown reason, a sensation much more complex than feeling electrons entered his mind. It felt like his head was being bombarded by silent wordless voices. This lack of words didn't prevent a part of his brain from giving them a meaning. Many of those voices expressed, in their simplest forms, feelings of joy, innocence and fear, but one of them was different. This one was more complex and messed up. In a powerful wave was randomly mixed joy and happiness, but also a tiny bit of sadness and jealousy. He had a faint idea what this voice was, but he needed to analyze it more carefully, to have its secrets revealed.

Unfortunately, those mysterious wordless voices became louder with time, taking up an increasing portion of Rick's mind. He was so concentrated on trying to understand why those voices were there, and where they came from, that he failed to notice the real reason they were getting louder. As he was listening to them, his cheeks were still accumulating electrical charges, showing no sign of stopping. His body was now an inert magnet, attracting any free electron to build up an electric attack.

Though it was silent at first, there were eventually enough negative particles for a loud spark to be made between his cheeks, then another, then two more, their number increasing rapidly. Rick heard the sounds, he knew what they were, but he refused to stop. Partly because he still needed to know more about the voices, but also because he was curious about how much he could accumulate and how he could use that charge. That's why he let the charge grow, and grow, and grow, until he thought there was enough of a charge for his experiment.

When it came to releasing it, however, he saw the flaw in his plan: he had put so much effort into listening that there wasn't any energy left to control the release of electrons. The solution, which was to stop listening, seemed simple, but it wasn't at all. Since the voices came when he started to attract electrons, Rick figured that he would need to stop attracting them for the voices to stop. But if he did, wouldn't the electricity leave his body? He still needed to control where it would go, but without being able to feel them, he would be like a blind guy throwing knives in random directions. He couldn't let that happen, but he didn't have a lot of time to make a choice. His charge was already powerful, much bigger than anything he had ever produced before, and it was getting stronger. He had to release it somehow!

At this point, Jen had stopped relaxing and was sitting up on the rock, keeping herself ungrounded. She hadn't missed the sounds of the sparks and was now looking at the rodent worriedly. Those sparks didn't seem intentional this time. Sparktail was still laying on the ground, eyes closed, like she had ordered him to, but his face was torn by signs of incredible effort, sparks going between his cheeks at an alarming rate. Unlike Rick, she knew what was going on. He had tried to charge his cheeks, but, for a reason she had yet to understand, he hadn't stopped; either that or he was unable to. This was not good. Pikachu might not be as powerful as Raichu, but they could still accumulate incredible amounts of electricity. If he didn't stop soon, his cheeks would overload. They would burn with electricity and two outcomes were possible, neither being good. The power was released everywhere, probably creating a forest fire or… his electrical sacs would explode from the enormous amount of electricity he was storing and Sparktail would be badly injured… or worse. "Sparktail! Stop it! You'll hurt yourself! Please, stop!"

The mouse heard the girl's pleading, but it wasn't strong enough to get to him. What did was a new wave of voices, expressing painful sorrows, worries and sadness. It was very strong and went right to his heart. The voices were scared of something, and he knew what it was: him. Not only was he making sparks fly everywhere, but something was also wrong with his mind. He could hear a part of him scream to him that it was not normal to hear those. He had to let it go, for now. And since he had no way to safely release his charge into the air, he would have to use himself as a conductor for it to be safe for everyone… except him.

His cheeks now burning from having too much energy, he rose to a sitting position, opening his eyes. Immediately, the voices died and electrons stopped coming, now wanting to leave. Holding it the best he could until he was ready, he began to place himself in order to route it to the ground. He dug his paws and his tail in the dirt, leaving only his left back paw hovering over the ground. This way, it would limit the amount of electricity going through his heart. Bracing himself for the pain, he let it go in one shot. "CHUUUUUUUU!!!!"

If his previous attempt in the tent had hurt him, this was killing him in pain. He might have split his power between four different points, and he might have an anatomy designed to manipulate large amounts of electricity, but it still hurt like if a train had squashed him. It wasn't so much that his body was in pain, but, at the moment the electricity went through it, he felt a great pain inside his head, like if a bomb had exploded inside it. When all the electricity was gone, his vision was blurred and his movements were shaky. He barely had time to notice Jen running toward him before he collapsed.

----

"Tracking team reports signal lost, general." quipped the sure-toned adjutant in a clipped voice. She was at his desk, trying her best to keep calm. This was news to roll heads; she could at least cushion it with a measure of impartiality. The imposing man of about forty years gave her a stern, reproving look, obviously not taking things very well. "Care to explain?" he asked, in a voice that meant "Thoroughly".

Having memorized and annotated the meager-sized report she held in her arms, she stoically passed it to him. "Of course, general." she said as genuinely as militarily possible. "At 07:43 this morning, the transmitter detected an abnormally strong static field that rapidly intensified. At 07:44, transmissions ceased. It's seems very likely that the transmitter was destroyed by electricity actually passing through the target's body. Automatic repair sequences would have been terminated. However, there's reason to believe the targets are still heading in the same straight line GPS was following them on. They're still heading towards Cerulean."

The general smiled meekly in his heart. His adjutant was right and their prey's idiot simple-mindedness would be their destruction. Springing his trap on time would be difficult without the tracking equipment, but at least he could be fairly certain where he needed his pawns to be. "Good. Recall the intercept and have them wait. Inform brigadier general Stalhelm I need his regiment prepped for deployment in five days. That's all."

When the girl had bowed, and made her exit, the turgid commander began once again to study his maps. Often the key to any victory was being able to choose the battlefield, forcing the enemy to fight at a disadvantage. A pikachu on the move would be much easier to spot then one settled in a colony. And there was a lot of open grassland between his prey and their safety.

((This last scene was rewritten by Kazundo Advocate at my request. His rants about my story actually helped me to get the motivation to prove him wrong and to complete it. It might never have gone this far without him, so he deserves it. There might another person I will honor at a later point.))


	11. Insightful Mind

_Author Note: (singing) Happy Birthday Sparktail! Happy Birthday Sparktail! Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday; Happy Birthday Sparktail! Yay!!! (end singing)_

_Yep, today, Sparktail (or Rick) celebrates his first birthday. Ah, the distant times of his birthday. I remember when he was a cute little pichu, cuddled against his mother and... oh wait... he never was (officially) a pichu. But still, during the past year, Sparktail had been a lot of things, including (copy paste what Sparktail himself said on the old forum) "a pikachu, a raichu, a shadow pokemon, a killer, a lover, a father, a son, a leader, a tyrant, a dead body, a spirit, a fragment of my son's troubled mind, a trained pokemon, a warrior, a human, an insane chu, a food gatherer, a member of the Elder Council, a traitor, a manipulator, a rapist, a negotiator, a clown, a drunken chu, a wimp, a crying chu, an insensible chu, a power-hungry chu, an overall evil being, the destroyer of humanity, a natural born pikachu, a naughty chu who urinated on a poor human, a friend, a best friend, an enemy and an evil returning spirit with godly power of destruction on april's fool day." Hmm... that list is incomplete. I will append "a jolteon, a shrunken chu, a pikachu-morph, a pichu, an espeon's enemy, the same espeon's lover, a psychic, umbreon's food, a home mouse, a pet, a plush, a husband, a scientist, an angry person, an eevee, an umbreon, a giant pikachu, some other random TF thing(s), the TF gun official provider and Sparktail." There, the list feels more complete. I probably forgot a few ones (most likely a lot), but I cannot remember everything about a character that is virtually everywhere, so let say they are all included into "random TF thing(s)"._

_To celebrate his birthday and the place he was born, we gave life to the old pokemon forum here on (Roleplaying: Transformation and Pokemorph) with a new spoiler-free roleplay (Novorum Principiis) topic for everyone to join and enjoy. May someone hear this and create another Sparktail-like idiot... err... great character on this happy day (but not as awesome as him. Sparktail is unique and he shall remain as such.) Anyway, back on a more interesting subject for most of you, this story. Have decided to put an end to it...indefinitely! (dramatic music)_

_Naw... I'm joking. Sorry about the delay between the last chapter and this one, though. Like I said before, I had nearly completed chapter 11, but I lost faith in my writing and went through many phases, including laziness. The latter is my biggest enemy and the former is a good ally of the latter. I received comments from someone saying that the quality of my writing was dropping, plummeting, dipping, tumbling, reducing, falling, sinking (Yay for random synonyms from the thesaurus.), so I tried to put more efforts and thoughts into it. At about 3/5 through this chapter, some of you might notice a difference in the style, a difference that seemed better to my eyes. I hope this helps to regain the quality I was said to have lost. I encourage critical reviews, flames even, if it is constructive. I think I need it to keep my motivation to get better and to write this. Also, every reviewer gets fancy responses. I think about the responses, they are worth it (there are others advantages to review at least once, but those are surprises.)_

_So… enough talk about me, let's talk about reviews, while we are talking about them. I love that. (grin)_

_Foxyjosh: Oh yeah… I hate spoilers too. Yet, I can't stop myself from looking at them. (glare at SSBB and shake my head) I hope you like this chapter, even if it's less shining than the previous ones. Hehe… shining._

_HelKat: Yay! A new reviewer! I was pleasantly surprised by this. I'm happy to have you aboard the happy reviewer train, heading onward to… (Sparktail glares at me) oh… yeah… I must remain spoiler-free. (I must recover too, but that's a totally unrelated video game subject. In fact, it's so unrelated that I don't even know why I mentioned it. Maybe I should delete it… hmmm… naw…) To conclude this, I hate those mysterious military spies thingy persons. They are… evil… or not… or maybe… _

_Kirby: (grin evilly) So… I heard you like Jen? I wonder why… hmm…hum… hummity hum… oh well… I blame Master Thirteen. (more grinning) You know, it's equally strange that I am writing this, because you are sleeping in my chat window, which mean I'm talking to a sleeping person, which mean I am weird. That's freaky. I did mention Kagai, but also mentioned Magic before and nobody complained. I could also mention Softpaw, Miya, Strongpaw and Keith, but who cares? They don't know who/what they are yet, so I doubt someone would feel spoiled by hearing the name of a character that might or might not appear. What else… you don't do stupid things (except with ye olde time gun of ancients RP times), Jen is more sane than you think, Sparky will always be lucky, my grammar likes you now, those shadowy people are kinda just shadowy like that and the voices are talking to you! (sic Miya on you.)_

_PS: It was the Reviewer of the Year, actually. (Give you plaque)_

_PPS: Without that birthday one year ago, we wouldn't have met. So there. But I thank F.D. too._

_PPPS: I hope this chapter will be as gripping._

_PPPPS: Vee? VEE? VEEEEEEEEE (/end MGS parody)_

_So… this completes the review response section, so here comes the chapter. But before, I would like to mention that I replaced my short military scene at the end of chapter 10 by a remake of it made by Kazundo's Advocate. Same content, different author. Call it a tribute if you want. Anyway… enjoy this chapter (longest ever again, with 6352 words)!_

_**Chapter 11: Insightful **__**Mind **_

"Looks like someone had some fun with electricity. You should be more careful with it, you could really hurt someone." Laughingly said a voice echoing everywhere around Rick, who was floating in a black void he knew too well. The pikachu sighed; he would never get a moment of peace, would he? "Very funny, Psywave. Now, show yourself!" he ordered to the void, screaming angrily. Psywave might have bested him the last three times he met him, but he would not win this time.

The void stayed silent for a while, as if Psywave was heavily thinking about what was supposed, according to Rick, to be a simple request. Finally, he spoke once more, his voice tainted with defiance. "If you wish, Rick, if you wish. You might regret it, though." As the voice died, a yellow shape appeared a few feet away from Rick. Messy at first, its traits started refining, the characteristics of an electric mouse shaping up. To Rick's amazement, the creature taking shape wasn't exactly like it was before. As soon the forms of a tiny black tail, big diamond-shaped ears and pink cheeks became noticeable, he knew what his enemy had chosen to become. "A Pichu? Is this a joke?" he blabbered, almost offended by such a lack of respect.

"No, Rick, it's not a joke. I feel like celebrating, so I got some appropriate clothing. Do you like it? I chose it just for you!" happily exclaimed Psywave between two childish chuckles. Suddenly, he was acting as if the psychotic pikachu he had been had never existed. He bounced on the spot, looking as happy as the creature he currently looked like could be. This made absolutely no sense to the older rodent. He had thought he had started to understand Psywave, but now he didn't know what to think of him. In fact, he didn't even know what to think at all. Too many things had happened since the last time he had been here. In less than one hour (or so he had guessed by the positions of the sun), Jen had learned about him being formerly human and he had nearly lost his cool while trying to show where Bill's lab is. Then, just as he was about to get a decent mastery his electricity, those uncanny voices had to mess everything up! Now, this crazy thing took a body so cute he couldn't hurt him to cool down his rage!

Distressed, Rick fell to his knees, looking down. It was enough of a negative reaction from Rick for the excited pichu to stop jumping and to set his stare on the older chu worryingly. "Rick? Are you-" he tried to ask, but he was harshly cut off by the enraged creature. "Stop calling me Rick! I'm not Rick anymore! You were right, Psywave! I am Sparktail. As much I know, Rick wasn't a pikachu. Rick didn't have weird voices inside his head! Rick wasn't crazy!" he yelled at him angrily, going back on his hind paws. Locking eyes with Psywave, he pointed at himself with quick gestures. "Do I look like Rick to you? Tell me, Psywave, you who seem to know so much about me; tell me who you think I am!"

Psywave, who had remained silent while Rick was screaming at him, began to walk toward the angry pikachu in a relaxed pace that showed no fear or worries. Once he was inches away from the pikachu's muzzle, the young pichu rose on two paws, his face bearing a curious expression. Calmly, he examined Rick from every angle, smiling happily. "You look like a fine pikachu to me, Sparky. I wanna be like you when I get older!" he chanted like a kid, before his face suddenly turned to a more serious expression. "Joke aside… I taught you well, but there is still a lot you fail to understand." The youngling started saying, using his familiar cryptic tone that made Rick cringe inwardly.

"Those voices… I wouldn't say you're crazy. That would make me crazy too, and I'm not. What we are, I would rather call it unique. If I remember right, I asked you before if you were a pikachu. The answer, as you might guess, is maybe. It depends on how you see it. You have the body of one, but the mind and the intelligence of a human. Why can't you be both?" he asked Sparktail, his eyes now staring deeply into his. A dark smile had appeared on his muzzle, growing wider as he spoke. "Didn't you feel the power running through those cheeks? Wasn't it those voices that made you change your mind about storing electricity and probably saved your life? Learn to control them, and you will become a powerful beast! Nobody will ever dare to stand in your way! You will crush them all!"

Chuckling evilly, Psywave backed away from Sparktail. The pikachu frowned, looking disdainfully at the crazy little pichu. "You're a fool, Psywave!" he said, rushing at the pichu in one quick motion. Before Psywave could react, something three times his weight rammed into him, throwing him to the ground. The larger mouse stood over the pichu's weak form, narrowing his eyes. "I wish only your destruction and the destruction of everything you stand for!" Using one paw, he pinned the pichu, pressing hard against his small throat. Coughing out a weak laugh, the trapped creature painfully forced a meek voice out, no less defiant than thirty seconds ago. "Go ahead and crush me. Let your anger finish me off. You know you want it. Crush the weaker. Be a coward. Doesn't the goal justify the mean used to reach it? Kill me! Then go back to being human without telling anyone. Ignore that this would make Sunny sad and crush Jen! While you are at it, you could kill Bill and take credit for his invention." Coughing some more, he intensified his stare on the dominant rodent. "Ohh… now I see your human self in all it's glory! Oh, what an ugly thing it is! I just want to spit on it." True to his words, Psywave ignored the pain and spat on Sparktail, smirking.

Surprisingly, no angry reaction, no threat came as retaliation. Disgusted, Rick didn't feel like hurting the pichu anymore. He released his grip on the younger rodent and stepped back with difficulty before falling to the ground awkwardly. "That's it! I… I give up. I can't take it anymore! You want me to stay a pikachu, then you don't, then you want it again. You want me to crush others and then you blame me for trying. I… I hate this place! I hate those dreams! I hate you! Stop being so cryptic and just tell me plainly what you want with me. Remove the mask and tell me the truth. Any secrets you're hiding, I'm ready to take them!"

There was no laughter or cynical reply from Psywave as he stood up on two paws again, rubbing his sore throat. His body flickered, taking a new shape with each flicker, seemingly growing up until he looked like a pikachu once more. This time however, there was something disturbingly unique with the shape he took. He had become a perfect copy of Sparktail, including the scar over his right eye. "There, Sparktail, you see the real me now. Happy? What did you expect? There is no secret, no mystery. I am what you always knew I was. I am you. You hate me? Then you hate yourself. You hate all those different facets of you I've shown you. Why did I do that, you ask? I tried to whisper you the reason, but each time, your deaf ears didn't want to listen. You never want to listen. All there is to see here is you and your selfishness, nothing less, nothing more. Think farther than us for once. You want me gone? Fine, I'll go. But not before giving you once last piece of advice, one you should listen to very carefully: Each time you are about to make a choice, each time you feel anger taking over, think about how your choice will affect those around you. Make the right choices, and you will be much happier and you will never see me again. Do wrong, and I will personally come to kick your butt. Until then, farewell, Rick 'Sparktail' Tortoas. May you have learned from this the next time we meet."

With those final words of parting, Psywave vanished into the void, leaving Rick alone with his guilt. This revelation, if it was one, had crushed him. "He's done it. He's made me hate myself. Hate the human I was and the pikachu I 'm becoming I have to put an end to that. From now on, Rick is truly gone. Until I am worthy of the name my parents gave me, I will be Sparktail. And I will stay Sparktail until I tame that anger and evilness inside me. If I don't… then I might as well stay a pokemon, for that's what I am." With that depressing vow, Sparktail was taken away by the void too, going back to realm of reality.

-----

Silence dwelt inside the small tent, true to the depressing atmosphere both inside and outside the lifeless body of the small mouse. For the last six hours, Jen had been at his side, giving him the necessary cares. His cheeks and forehead were covered with cold blankets in an effort to diminish the pain and the heat that had been radiating from them since the incident. At least Sparktail seemed out of danger. His heart rate and breathing were back to normal and his face wasn't nearly as hot as it had been earlier. There was nothing more that she could do for him, other than being here. Here, alone with what she considered to be her mistake, Sunny having since long been recalled to her ball. It wouldn't have been fair for an innocent creature like the vulpix to feel that pain, when it was only the girl's fault if a pokemon was suffering. Of course, Jen wasn't in his body and couldn't know exactly what had happened, but it was her who had started the training. It was all her fault.

Because of that, she deserved to share that suffering. Her swollen, red eyes still displayed the grief she had felt when she saw the rodent collapse to the ground. She could still remember the pain frozen on his muzzle and the look he had given her when he fell. It had been one of disdain and hate, she knew it. Sparktail probably hated her now. It must have been the most painful moment of the past month. Sighing, the girl put the blanket back in its original position. If he saw how caring she had been while he was knocked out, maybe it would remove any traces of resentment he could have toward her. That is, of course, supposing he does wake up eventually. As easy as it was for her to conclude he seemed fine by looking at his body, it was very hard, if not impossible, to tell if he wasn't injured inside. If didn't wake up, she would have no choice but to walk all night into the woods to reach the closest city. But this wasn't an option she liked too much. She knew how to treat pokemon, and it was only a matter of time before Sparktail would wake up. His body obviously only needed more rest. Everything was going to be fine. Hopefully.

Resting her head near the mouse's belly, the young woman calmly listened to the noises coming from inside him, her pain soothed by the relaxing pulses. Her mind wasn't still completely at rest though. She tried to keep the last ten seconds of that unfortunate event from replaying non-stop in her conscious, but she failed, since the holes in the logical sequence of event were too big to be avoidable. She simply couldn't understand what had happened. She had facts, she had seen things, but, yet it didn't make sense. How could Sparktail have shocked himself to the point of falling unconscious? He had taken a good position (although it could have been better) when he let the electricity go, and, even if it went through his body, he should have minimized the effects of the charge to the point almost no pain should have been felt, much less fall unconscious. What was even stranger was how there was no trace of burns anywhere on his body, other than on his cheeks and forehead. The burns on his cheeks, it was understandable, but the one on his forehead… why was it burnt there? Had she have sophisticated tools, she would have tried to see further through that one, but she couldn't, so all she could hope was that this strange burn didn't cause any damage to him.

Obviously, most pokemon trainers would have immediately run to the nearest pokemon center for further examinations, but Jen had a different way of drawing the line. As soon her pokemon showed signs of fatigue or minor injuries, she simply forbid them to fight and applied some homemade medicine. In this case, everything, other than this burn on his forehead, pointed to fatigue and inexperience. Since the only thing that hit him was his own electricity, the sources of complications following that kind of incident were negligible for a pikachu. Running back to town would not only mean wasting time, but it also meant she would be putting her pokemon in the hand of people she didn't know. Not that she didn't trust the nurses, but having herself followed a small course on pokemon health care methods, she was convinced that her pokemon appreciated her cares more. After all, she was their friend. More than that, maybe there was a way for them to know that Sparktail wasn't born a pokemon and then, who knew what could happen to him? Everybody wasn't nice like her and professor Oak. He could be forced through experiments worse than only having someone like her to take notes about his behaviour. Right now however, she did doubt a little about her decision of staying here. Maybe it wasn't the best one in this situation. This doubt was only one more reason to feel guilty.

All of a sudden, Sparktail's heart rate sped up. As it rose, his little body started to regain life. Unsettled by the unexpected motion, Jen raised her head and stared at him, a glint of hope in her eyes. "Sparktail?" she asked the slowly moving body. Her voice, soft like a whisper, felt more like she was reassuring him than asking an actual question. There was little chance he would actually say something back, since he was just waking up, but Sparktail defied the odds, for a good reason. The first thing he felt when he woke up was a sharp burning sensation on his forehead, a feeling he would rather never have felt. It didn't take long before he let out a few undecipherable yelps of pain, before holding them back, for he felt like Jen was staring at him. If he showed any kind of weakness to Jen, she would likely decide to make him stay down. Anyway, the stinging sensation was nothing compared to how it had been at first when he had been hit, so the pain would probably be gone soon. There was still another detail to take care of, though. There was something annoyingly cold on his cheeks, and, despite the fact he knew it was helping him, he didn't want that thing to be there, since the water running on his cheeks was preventing him from using them efficiently.

Tilting his head sideway, he felt the cold sensation move away from his cheeks, sliding along his muzzle. It finally vanished as gravity pulled whatever was on his cheeks to the floor, the suction from the liquid on it unable to retain the wet object. Freed from this source of annoyance, Sparktail used the fact that he was already standing on his belly to his advantage, quickly rising on four paws, opening his eyes as he did so. What he saw wasn't much different from what he had expected. That wall was there again, suggesting he was still in that portable nest. This meant that he was safe, though he already knew that. His sense of smell had identified Jen's scent long before he had even had a conscious thought, making it obvious he wasn't in any immediate danger. Even so, it didn't take a genius to know that it was in his best interest to turn around and face Jen. Whatever had happened outside, she had been nice enough to bring him back here, so it would be pretty impolite to ignore her. Not only that, but he still feared what would happen to him if he showed any weakness.

Forcing a smile, Sparktail quickly made a half-turn on himself, his muzzle now pointing at Jen's belly and his eyes staring at her torso, a bit absent-minded. He didn't seem that much bothered with the view of those two bumps on her chest that were distinctly different from the rest of her mid section. That is, until he remembered what slightly appealing things they were. Feeling somewhat guilty about doing something wrong, the nervous rodent looked up, searching for something less disturbing. He found it in the form of the human's head, which was looking down at him. It was a much better sight, though there was still something striking about that. It was hard to tell if it was the mess that was her hair, the strange aspect of her eyes or the whole tired feeling emanating from her face, but he almost felt guilty about it.

Almost, because this emotion was quickly swapped with the reminder that his forehead still hurt and that it wasn't something he liked. Thinking about his previous actions, he now regretted removing that cold thing from his head. That freezing feeling might not have been the best thing in the world, but it had definitely felt a lot better with it than without. However, he wasn't about to put it back on. It might be only petty pride, but he wouldn't let Jen think she had been right by doing that. He still deserved some independence in his choices, after all.

If there was one thing that could be concluded from Sparktail's latest actions, it was that all this faking about being fine did make it through Jen's mental barrier of worries. Temporarily forgetting about her pokemon's humanity (and thus his ability to lie more easily), the trainer thought that the mouse current smile and relaxed position were trusty indicators that everything was fine. A smile formed on her face, her hand instinctively beginning to pet his head. "I'm glad to see that you are ok. I—" She stopped midway, noticing how she was petting Sparktail, instantly reminded of what he really was. Jerking her hand away from him, she looked down to stare at it, avoiding any visual contact with the mouse. "I'm sorry… I'm used to doing that. Excuse me. I didn't mean to… well…"

Giving the human a curious glance, Sparktail held a laugh, finding her sudden uncomfortable way of acting very funny, even if he hadn't really minded the petting. In fact, it felt so nice that he would have liked it if she had continued, if he didn't have to act human. If it was any consolation, he was amused at seeing her like this. It wasn't everyday that he could laugh at someone without any consequence, even though his laugh was mostly silent. Intent on adding more fun to the joke, he took an annoyed stance, his eyes piercing hers like knives. Guilty, the poor girl could only babble a few incoherent words, before changing the subject in a rush. "Err… yes, so… are you sure everything is ok? You spent six hours knocked out. It was like a living nightmare to me."

Sparktail flinched. Nightmare… that word awakened some recent painful memories. While he was sleeping, he had had one bad nightmare. What happened in it was now clear. He was there, and Psywave too. Psywave had revealed his identity and then, after he left, he had made some kind of vow. It was about… him becoming less selfish. Selfish… wasn't it how he had just acted toward Jen, by making fun of her, despite knowing he was only hurting her? It seemed he still hadn't learned his lesson.

After nodding at Jen, Sparktail looked around him, feeling bad. He needed some time alone to think about that. Since the pokeball wasn't an option, he would have to be a bit more reckless. Glancing at Jen's left side; he noticed an opening in the tent, big enough for him to slip through. While Jen was preparing a reply, the mouse nonchalantly made his way to the opening. Even if he was going at a slow pace, his posture expressed a different feeling. He was forcing himself to walk on two paws, shoulders lowered, in a characteristic human manner that was anything but comfortable for his body. If Jen didn't get that he wasn't in a mood for talking, then she was dumber than she looked.

Dumb wasn't exactly the right word to describe Jen. If there was word related to the current situation, it was probably quick-minded. Noticing that the wounded mouse was suddenly not in front of her, Jen quickly turned her head to the entrance. Immediately, her eyes recognized the shape of the rodent, but she made no sound to call him, as there was no reason to. Seeing the unique posture he took, she decided against bothering him. His stance plainly screamed that he was in some kind of emotional turmoil; she would have been a fool not to notice it. However, she was skilled with pokemon mentalities, not human ones. There was no way for her to guarantee that she would be able to help him in some way, so she figured that the best thing to do was to stay out of this, at least for now. Still, there would be no logic in letting him go outside alone, so she subtly looked at where he was going.

Unaware that he was being watched, Sparktail walked out of the tent, convinced he had successfully escaped his trainer for a while. Looking in every direction, he examined his surroundings, pleased to notice that there had been no change since last time. This meant that Jen hadn't moved, so he knew where he shouldn't go, starting with the clearing. It was too obvious of a place and he would easily be spotted by his trainer. The best place would be one where, not only he would be hidden, but also where he could relax in peace. This good spot was right in front of him, in the form of a berry bush. It wasn't only satisfying his previous conditions, but it also contained more of those delicious little blue pellets for him to eat while he thought. It was simply perfect.

Having chosen his destination, the pikachu crouched down on four paws, readying for a quick race against Jen's reaction speed. His legs moved forward, his body picking up as much speed as it was possible to obtain. In what seemed like a flash to him, he had disappeared out of sight under the bushes. Still, despite his extra efforts, he didn't get the expected results. Accelerating so quickly could have fooled a predator with poor vision, but not Jen. She saw precisely where he was heading and that's why she didn't release her grip on Sunny's pokeball. She had no reason to chase after him, since he had gone straight for the berry bushes. Looking for food and a place where he wouldn't be seen was the kind of behavior she had expected, so she had few reasons to worry. Her decision was confirmed when she heard the sounds of his little legs sliding in the dirt to slow him down; meaning he probably wouldn't go any farther. After all, if he had wanted to run away from her, he would have had plenty of opportunities before. Even though she was confident that the mouse wouldn't leave, she didn't really trust everything to go perfectly right. Remaining focused on any new sounds coming from there, she began to pack her stuff. If they wanted to reach Cerulean City eventually, someone had to do it.

A few feet away, Sparktail wasn't expressing as much faith in himself as Jen seemed to have placed in him. Sitting under the bush, his back resting on its slightly thorny surface, the yellow rodent was thinking intensely about his dream. That vow he had made and the events that led to it were all he could focus on. Or rather, all he wanted to think about. The vow itself wasn't a problem, but its implications brought a dilemma that few men had had to solve before, if any. His vow made it clear that he would have to get better if he wanted to stay human in his head, but Psywave made him doubt about wanting it. Was he really a good human? Had he made the right choices? If he hadn't, was it worth it to turn back into a human, or even be allowed to think like one? At least, with a pokemon's mind, if he was to hurt someone, it would be an accident, part of how nature had intended him to act.

The ideal solution, which was to put forth the efforts needed to change his set of mind, would take too much time to apply, more than he would he able to tolerate his unwanted pokemon behavior. After all, you can't easily change twenty years of acting like if your own success and pokemon were the only things of any worth to your eyes, and that, instantly. This seemed like an impossible task, considering his poor social background. He had no friends nor had he wanted one, since nobody had been able to understand the way he thought. At school, his peers had said that he thought too much about pokemon and not enough about making sacrifices for the advancement of science. That's why he had wanted to work with computers. With them, he was master of everything and he didn't have to get his hands dirty on anything involving people. It had been the perfect job for him, but he had still felt alone and misunderstood. Bill had been the only man he had come to respect, but he had betrayed him. This was depressing. Was there anything good about humanity?

Lifting his head in spite of looking at something better than his undeserving form, Sparktail gave the tent a long glance, sighing heavily. If there was anything in the vicinity of this little planet that could ever come close to salvaging humanity in his eyes, Jen was probably the best candidate. He had met many humans during his short life, many for which there weren't words strong enough to describe how despicable they were. None of them, not even the only man he had ever respected, could compare to Jen. She was a single diamond deeply hidden within a mountain of coal, her value imprisoned by her worthless surroundings. In this diamond shined a truly unique individual, the only soul who had ever wanted to help him without asking for anything in return. He didn't deserve to be with her. He was the incarnation of what he hated, the darkest and most useless piece of coal. Once again, Psywave had been proven right. It was now impossible for the small rodent to feel any hatred for that being. That fragment of his imagination hadn't deserved to be ignored and he was truly a fool for not listening to it earlier. Not that any kind of open minded reasoning should have been expected from him; he wouldn't be the insignificant creature that he was if he had.

And yet, somehow, Jen did care for him. Sunny, despite being one of the most annoying creatures he ever laid eyes on, expressed the same in a particular way only another of those red and fluffy hot things could understand. Why were these females bothering with him? He was nothing but a selfish human in the body of a energic pokemon, with mental abilities that seemed to shrink with every passing hour and whose mind was haunted by imaginary voices. He was the truest definition of the weird, the bizarre; a freak. There was no logical reason to care for him. All they would get by doing so would be pain and hurt in the long run. What did they expect, really? To have him change suddenly to become the nicest pokemon they ever saw? They could keep wishing, because he wouldn't do that. Not only would it obviously be too much effort, but doing so would imply losing himself to the brainless mind of a pikachu, which wasn't in his immediate plans for the future. He had more to gain from understanding those voices instead, as the answer would draw the path to mastering those forces that escaped his control.

Closing his eyes, he turned his head away from the humanity linked to that tent, away from the dark thoughts creeping around his mind. To accomplish the feat of deciphering the mystery behind the wordless sounds, he would have to shelter his mind as far from reality as possible. Reality was only a chaotic mess of ideas inside his mind, all unrelated to the task at paw. Focusing on the single thought of feeling those voices again, the world around him faded away, shrinking to become a faint shadow at the back of a mold of abstract thought. Relaxed, he let the millions of electrons giving away their position print them into that mold. Those signals, random and in small amounts, formed a beautiful arrangement when seen together, an elementary design he could mold to some extent to execute precise actions. In this passive state, the patterns of energy showed two masses of electrons. From those emerged an intricate network of wires and containers, mapped on almost every corner of what he supposed to be his body. Like the blood stream, those wires came in many sizes, shapes and their own singularities. There was no wire around specific locations, probably important organs, and there was a spot where the wires were so perfectly aligned that it seemed almost foreign compared to the rest of the system. Had Sparktail's goal been to understand the inner working of that system, he would have had taken further notice of this strange pattern, but his interest was limited to the flows of energy in and out of that system. Right now, those flows were negligible, if not nonexistent, but this would not be the case for long. It only took one thought, one idea about wanting to build up energy for the state of the system to change radically.

Suddenly, electrons moved from one mass to the other, using the biggest of those wires. Attracted by the positive charge created by this movement, negative particles from everywhere inside his body moved toward that spot, leaving the various containers they originated from with a deficit. From the inside, those pockets were insignificant compared to the huge pocket that was one of his cheeks, but from the outside, they looked like attractive targets for any free electron around. Being evenly distributed on the surface of his body, the tiny sacs formed together a huge electron magnet, creating a slow but constant flow of particles toward him. Exactly at this moment, the first voices took shape in his mind, appearing as patterned bursts of energy on the mental electricity map he made. Very faintly, those mysterious signals talked about such feeling as being happy, calm, relaxed, eager for something, nervous or unhappy. Those feelings, as shown by the energy's pattern, were simple, but, as before, there was that strong voice that encompassed every other, a burst so powerful that it hurt his mind. This time, it expressed feelings of happiness, mixed with the sensation of being relieved, though there was also a faint trace of concerns and worries.

Immensely disturbed by the constant flow of energy running through his mind, the poor rodent weakly listened to those voices, drowning in their cryptic messages. The very existence of those messages had birthed many subtle and annoying questions, scratching the foundations of his innate truths. Flaws of his reasoning were pinpointed by those precise inquiries, bringing forth the answers he was looking for on a silver platter. However, if this platter was holder of the truth, it was more than worthy of being thrown aside, as it could bring to the ground everything he knew about himself. Yet, it was hard, if not impossible, to ignore those questions. How could energy express feelings? How could he know they were feelings in the first place? Why did those feelings felt so real, so true?

Unable to retain those questions any longer, Sparktail let their obvious answers print themselves into his mind, perfectly completing the design he built. It was both exciting and frightening at same time. Those mysterious energy waves flowing inside him were exactly what they pretended to be. If they were recognized, translated by his brain and expressed as being pure feelings, it could only be because they were real feelings. Or rather, they were the most basic form emotions could take, it being residue of brain electrical activities. All these emotions were coming from creatures around him, their complexity varying according to the species. After all, a more powerful brain is expected to work harder and to show more activity. Using this theory as a basic fact, one could easily deduce that the powerful voice hurting him was owned by Sparktail's trainer. If the rodent's current struggle with a mind that didn't agree with him was any indication, few pokemon possessed the potential of intelligence a human had.

This same conclusion, the former human had come up with it, save that his version was more unstable and defined with less precision. Despite the obvious limitations his brain had to picture the situation, it remained as problematic as it would have been for him as human. Suddenly, he wasn't only a regular pikachu, but one with the curious ability to perceive the emotions of those around him under certain conditions. Had his pikachu body have any preceding knowledge about this unique skill, he would at least have been allowed to blame it once again, but alas his instincts gave him no such signs. If it wasn't native pikachu ability, it could only be a native human one, or maybe a mix from the two. Either way, the idea that he could be some kind of psychic creature wasn't appealing. Since day one, he had had to fight with all his might to keep intact his humanity in sufficient amount. Already crushed by dilemmas and problems, the last thing he needed was to have his mind filled up with troubles of others, especially not those of Jen. A nice person like her didn't deserve to have someone like him nearby to make her feel bad, or at least, he didn't need to know about it.

In the mist of this guilt and sadness, Sparktail finally made a choice. If those voices were actually the feelings of others, he didn't want to them. Their existence was only a curse, taunting him with information that stayed inside people's head for the very good reason that they were meant to stay disclosed. He might usually be devoured by curiosity, but he wouldn't go as far as seeking into minds to gain more knowledge. He wouldn't allow himself to be a freaky psychic. If he found no way to avoid receiving those feelings each time he strongly used his electricity, he would just stop using it. Better be a handicapped pikachu than a monster.

To stay loyal to his choice, the fractured soul let the energy map fade away, sending his mind into a soft state of relaxation; this would unlock the door leading back to the real world and its bland and almost colorless scenery. Feeling the voices shrink into nothing, the rodent smiled to himself; this would be over soon. The faintest ones were quickly gone, followed by those close to him, then… to his surprise, there wasn't only one flow remaining in the end, but two. The one expressing those strong feelings, he didn't bother with, as it was only Jen's. The one other one was perplexing. The complexity of emotions wasn't any different from all the others faint ones, but it felt close… dangerously close. Almost like if… whatever was emitting those waves was heavily focused on him. Focused on his body, focused on a growing desire of hunger, focused on anticipating the sensation of being filled, focused on…

Before the thought reached his conscious mind, he had already taken action. With the speed of a bullet train, his left forepaw dug deep into the ground, his whole body tensing and his weight shifting on the grounded paw. Releasing it from the floor's grip, like one would release a spring, he threw his body in the opposite direction, to the right, to safety. Rolling toward Jen and shocking his eyes open in surprise, he felt his others senses return to him. His ears catching on the sounds of a loud weight landing where he had been barely a fraction of second ago, his nose identifying the smell of blood and his eyes getting a glimpse of a black clawed paw, he panicked. "Jen!!! Help!!! Beast!!!"


	12. Disillusioned Darkness

_A/N: I'm backo! Well... for a new chapter, at least. Ok, again, I will hear people say in their head: "It was darn time!" I__ have only one reply to that: "Yes, it was!" I tried to find a good excuse for the delay, but I didn't find any, so I won't lie and admit that I was lazy... again. Though, if I remember well, I didn't promise anything last time, but I guess it doesn't excuse it. Oh well... DPL is synonym of irregulary, anyway. But DPL now has a story blog too! Click on my profile's link to see it.  
_

_But, let's change the subject and talk about this chapter! As you will soon see, this chapter is not about Sparktail. Before I hear complains, I will state it now: I'm not replacing Sparktail by a new character. While it may seems like it, I'm merely given another favorite character of mine her own window, since she won't have her own story. A whole chapter dedicated to her was, all things considered, a waste of a chapter and could have been avoided completely, but I can guarantee that it won't be a waste of your time. From what I have heard, this is one of my best chapters and the character is lovable (this is coming from someone who hated her originally, so it must mean something). Before I let you read it, since I love to make you wait, let's all read Review Response together! Sure, you can always skip those, but I made them with love, joy and a tiny bit of humor, so it makes them cool… in my opinion. Did I ever say I love writing them? (smirk)_

_**Tyler**__**:**__ How to start this ? Well, first of all, the formula for getting rid of Sunny is exact. The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't take into consideration that she might be gone for much longer. (glance at Kagai) I'm not replacing her! Ok… I haven't decided yet, but I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Sunny. Pokémon rooting in their ball is so anime-like anyway and the anime sucks. Granted, they root even more in the games, but the games are cool! /opinion Hehe… what else. Hmm… oh, yeah, the military people. I do think they are cool, in a creepy kind of evil way… with cheese. Does it make sense? No, but I hope you do review this chapter. If you don't… well… nothing bad, I guess, but I will have one less response to write next time and this will make me a sad eevee (or pikachu, depending on my mood ;) )._

_P.S.: Happy Birthday Jen__! (It was on April 10th, but it's never too late to say it)_

_P.P.S__ : Magic's Birthday is somewhere in August. However, the character died in a car accident, so I guess she doesn't have a birthday to celebrate anymore. And by car accident, I meant I gave up on the character and gave her to someone else, who partially ruined her (grinning teeth)._

_**HellKat**__**:**__ An Absol? You think the beast is an Absol? I'm sad now… naw, not really. But, it's not an Absol . Why not? Because… err… well… it's not. I don't really have a reason, it's just that it happens to be another species of pokémon. If anything, you have the right type. (smile) I agree that the cliffhanger was evil, and even more evil was the waiting time before I posted this. So… umm… sorry? _

_**Kirby**__**:**__ Umm… you know, I just realized what those Post-Pre-Scripts were talking about… it took me 3 months, but… (sic Miya on you again) Now, that you are under her control, let's talk about your review. It's so long that I will do like you do and response as I read it. Let see… Jen is cool, but I don't think that people feels bad because I mention characters they don't know. I think it's more like a fuel to their curiosity. Psywave is cool, because Sparktail created him, who make everything cool. Kill Bill is not /that/ funny. Jen is happy that you hugged her, but she wants to add that she isn't weird in that storyline and that the fact she was calmed by Sparktail's insides was a coincidence! Yep… a coincidence… because you know that creature's insides don't calm her, it does the opposite, anyway (shifty eyes). Though, there are more references to that stuff in this chapter, though it explores the gory and more realistic aspect of it… let's change the subject…_

_Prof Oak is not a… hey! Stop hitting Sparky__! He is just confused, the poor thing! (stare at Jen's breasts) Yep, poor… hey! I said stop! I think you are having a problem with Jen being watched by other men… or chu. I would say you are jealous, but… oh! Hi Es'! I hope you are having fun in Cerulean with Rick! Ok… where was I… well, the writing style was better, I guess, though I did say it somewhere. Thanks for the praise, anyway. It's appreciated. Semi-empathic pikachuman? I think you were a bit too tired… maybe._

_P.S.__: It was long and weird, true, but it made me laugh a lot, and not at you, but at the content. I don't usually approve you going to sleep late, but if it produce fun reviews like this… go for it ! /selfish_

_P.P.S.__: I know you were tired, Kirb, I know. (pat you)_

_P.P.P.S__: It's alright… you didn't mean to hit him… but don't do it again._

_**Foxyjosh**__**:**__ Oh my! Actually a question that is like… so… meaningful! Granted, it seemed more like a rhetorical question, but I will answer it, because I am bold! Oh… wait… I do remember that you don't like spoilers and spoiling a chapter you didn't read is still a spoiler, so… I can say that this chapter gives a hint toward the answer, but is misleading at the same time. It depends of your definition of group. (evil knowing grin) Have fun!_

_Well… I'm done__! I don't have any more complains to state… oh… wait! Before you start, I want to say that there is another note at the end of the chapter (that should only be read after you read the chapter) with a little guessing game of mine. So… be aware of the details in this chapter, you might need them. Enjoy your reading!_

**Chapter 12: Disillusioned Darkness**

What a strange and twisted circle our world is. It begins with vast amounts of vegetation, provider of food for the small critters. Those little creatures are, more often than they would like, eaten by bigger ones. Then, inevitably pulled down by time, all those lifeforms pass away, their bodies becoming food for plants. It seems to complete a perfect circle, doesn't it? If only it was so simple. Plants do need nutrients provided by their surroundings to grow strong, but this alone doesn't create life. As with fire, life requires a spark to trigger the unstoppable chain reaction leading to its birth. On this planet, the sun is this trigger. Every day, its light shines on this world, initializing, through photosynthesis, the process that will allow plants to create energy for themselves and for others. In a way, this trigger is the starting point of our circle of life. This, of course, begs the question: if there is a starting point, where is the ending one?

Life is, unfortunately, far from eternal. At some point, light might stop shining, plants might stop growing, or small critters might be reduced in numbers. When this happens, the endpoint of our circle is reached. The entity of life cannot sustain itself anymore, and it gives its matter and energy back to the universe, eventually calling forth the creation of a new circle through the birth of another life. This opposite force, this counter energy to light, this darkness called death, also has its tale to tell. It creeps around corners, biding its time, waiting to destroy what has been created, thus ensuring equilibrium.

In the pokémon world, both sides strangely became physical entities one could touch and feel, for better or for worse. Since the beginning of time, beasts of light and darkness opposed each other with claws and teeth, in order to remove any physical trace of what would ultimately be their destiny. Humans, sided with the creatures of light, had rarely, if ever, taken a short moment to stop and think about what those so-called evil creatures felt as they were destroyed. Like anything else, those beasts were born from energy and matter, but they didn't feed off of the light that had created them. Instead, they made shadows their home, darkness their master and, all things being fair, light their enemy. Whereas humans saw them as evil, they equally saw humans as such. When the sun rose, and darkness faded away, they were forced to vanish like their master, to go where the entities of light would not find them. Even though there are as many of these beasts as there are interesting tales about them, one of these creatures particularly deserves our attention.

Deep inside the forest, lying behind a rock she had claimed as her nest for the night, was sleeping that creature, whose origins were blatantly obvious to any that saw her. Black in color, the fox-like beast stood at an impressive height of three feet. Equipped with long claws and sharp teeth; and sporting intimidating yellow rings on her body, she had everything to be the fearsome threat she had every sign of being, should anyone be unlucky enough to cross her path. Yet, as the early rays of the sun lit her body, which was curled into a tight ball, her tail closing the circle and her ears resting against her head, one would wonder why this cute creature would even hurt something. Tickled by those rays, the eyes of this predatory pokémon opened up, a relieved smile appearing across the creature's muzzle as her eyes adjusted themselves to the low, yet annoying, quantity of light that reached their sensitive surface. Coming back from another nightmares-infested night, it was with an eager mood that this beast was tackling the dawn of a new day. The sole fact that this pokémon, who was supposed to be one with the shadows, was up at this time began to raise questions about her sanity. This particular creature had, of course, good reasons to be avoiding the life rhythm her body was urging her to pursue, or she wouldn't be breaking the intentions of nature so impudently. In her case though, this was a situation where rebellion served a greater purpose than her own comfort, where a shattered rule was only the logical response to a higher injustice. There are some causes that necessitate their share of sacrifice from their followers, and this was one of those.

Eager to discover what the world had to offer her this morning, the female vixen was quick to ignore her weaknesses. Her slow, ragged breathing and the numbness in her legs only slowed her down as she shakily rose onto four paws. As her body rose and her motions became more than obvious, a wave of instinctive responses shook the forest, resulting in bursts of sounds resonating deep into the sensitive ears of the predator. To her dismay, she could only look down in despair when those sounds were identified as being groups of pokémon running away from her rising body, so they could survive another day. If nature had given her the ability to shed tears, she would be drowning in them. This wasn't how it was supposed to be... it wasn't how she was supposed to live. Despite her bodily strengths, she wasn't trained nor was she made for hunting those fast pokémon dashing blindly during the day. Her species' specialty was all about lurking in the dark, sneaking silently to reach any pokémon unfortunate enough to be sleeping in the open and taking the life out of them before they were aware of her presence. She was supposed to be death in its simplest expression; creeping around corners and killing vulnerable creatures. This was something she refused to accept, no matter the consequences.

Taking a step forward, she extended her paws in the grass, stretching her body very carefully. Sadly, hunger wasn't the only weakness affecting her. If it was, things would have been much easier. Even if she took the best precautions by stretching very slowly, it wasn't enough to prevent some pain from jolting through her body as some muscles were extended farther than her current state could allow them. Wincing in pain, her breath cut by the pressure on her side, the dark pokémon glanced back at the source of her suffering. In the middle of her thorax, her fur had ceased to be black, having been tainted with the characteristic disgusting red color of blood. With this paint job on her side, came four deep openings in her chest. Shaped like long, straight lines, those painful markings symbolized everything that was wrong with her life. One day, they would heal and become permanent scars, but never would she be freed from the pain. The physical pain might vanish, but her mind would forever be mourning its origin. The real scars had already been burned into her mind, mutated into fear and struggles and it was too late to change the past. No matter how much she disliked it, she was now a cursed umbreon, destroyer of her ancestors, and she had to make the most of this handicap.

This said, even if there was little she could do to change her past, she still had a whole future ahead of her. It would be hard, but she would have to ignore the pain and walk forward. Catching a fresh prey might be out of her paws, but luckily, it wasn't the only feeding method. While out of sleeping preys, she could still set her senses on finding a dead pokémon that hadn't already been eaten to the bones by another predator. It was very unlikely, but there wasn't much left to hope for. If she didn't find any food soon, her injury wouldn't be the only health problem she would have to worry about. A cut could heal with time, but hunger only grew stronger. It has only been five moons since the incident, but her body was already reacting strongly against the lack of fresh meat. In this state of withdrawal, her vital functions had slow down to conserve energy, moving was difficult and the only thing on her mind was this hunger constantly reminding her that things would get worse if she didn't correct the situation.

Not satisfied by simply trying to control her mind, her desire to eat was threatening to shatter her sanity. It was offering the simplest solution to fix everything, which was to live the way her body was meant to, but her fears desperately held the fort. Living at night would bring forth enemies worse than hunger. They were awake during the day and scouting the area. If they were to find her again, sleeping unprotected, she wouldn't survive it this time. She knew that she had to get away from here, to find her own territory, but she hadn't been trained for a life like this. She wasn't ready. Nothing, in her ancestral roots and teachings, had prepared her for this eventuality. It was impossible, they said, but now she was paying the price for their lack of forethought. Going out there now, alone and without a model to follow, would spell her death. On the other paw, living at night here would mean the same thing. Stuck between two dead ends, the young pokémon had chosen the middle ground and hoped that her pain and struggles would eventually soften the heart of her enemies. Still, without food to sustain herself, death would come faster than compassion.

Motivated by her desire to feast on the first pokémon she would see, the weakened female umbreon made her way around the clearing, going at a slow, cautious pace. It was essential if she wanted to increase her small chances of finding a sleeping pokémon. Her eyes were focused on finding a dead pokémon, but her ears and nose were on the alert for any threatening sound or noise. Despite the precarious situation, she found something pleasuring in this time of the day that was only by equaled by dusk. It was a rare moment where both her body and mind agreed with the light intensity and where she could hunt freely without fearing her enemies. Sitting at the border between day and night, this time saw most of the night predators going back to sleep and some preys yet to be awaken, making it the perfect opportunity for her to have a chance at snatching something.

For a while, the three foot tall predator casually walked around the trees and through the bushes, her hunger once again hitting a wall. There was absolutely nothing left for her, not even the smallest crumb. It might have sounded surprising to the inexperienced pokémon, but it was a fact that her nocturnal rivals had long since gotten everything they could find, leaving no food for a pokémon waking up so late in the night cycle. In the end, all that was left for her unfortunate self was just more hunger and despair, as well as the taunting actions of more and more pokémon waking up and hiding from her. Rodents of all sizes, species and ages, delicacies on four paws, passed by or over her without any consideration about how weak they were making her by not sacrificing themselves for her. Witness of this scenario that seemed to repeat itself every morning, the female drooped her ears in sadness, losing herself in her thoughts. If only her mother was still there, giving her all the food she needed while she played with her siblings, things would have been a lot easier. She wouldn't be here, looking for preys that didn't or hadn't wanted to--

About to cross through another bush, the umbreon was thrown out of her musing when loud sounds, those of a heavy creature walking on two paws, reached her. Shivering in fear in reaction to this potential new deadly threat, she immediately crouched down under the bush, making herself as invisible as she could under such a small thing. Too scared to move, she listened to the approaching pacing sounds, blood freezing in her veins. Struggling against the rising urges to flee, her mind clouded by the ghosts of past encounters with the expected dreaded creature, it took some time for her nose to catch its scent and her brain to analyze it. When they finally did, she felt her muscles reaching a new level of paralysis. There was only one thing that scared her more than her enemies and it was getting closer. It was a human, one with a strong scent of berries with it. Human were, by far, the strangest thing she had ever encountered, but never had she met one with berries. This could be a new kind of human, maybe a berry-eating one. Normal or not, if this human came any closer, she wouldn't hesitate and strike. Fear might paralyze her, but it wasn't because the beast was unbeatable. It was slow and big; one pounce and it would be over. Last time she met them however, it was the aftermath of the battle that had left its marks and she didn't want a repeat of that. It wasn't of course the most logical way of thinking, but in her animalistic mind, it made perfect sense. The least she would hurt humans, the least she would be hurt.

Looking between the branches of the bushes, she suddenly caught glimpse of the creature. Standing at almost double her size like all humans, albeit this one was somewhat smaller, the human had long head fur and soft skin, hinting at it being a female one. Not having noticed the hidden vixen, the female was walking around a self-designated path between the bushes, stopping here and there to collect berries from them. The young umbreon, not sensing any immediate threat from the dangerous female beast, was able to calm herself to focus more on her rising curiosity. Her eyes staring intently at the human for any suspicious moves, she analyzed some more of those unusual scents coming from her. Aside from the obvious scent of berries and her body odor, there were a few other interesting things about her, the first and most important one being a fresh rodent scent. From this newest and attracting piece of information, the dark creature tried to form her own understanding of the situation. Could this human be eating rodents too? If yes, could she be collecting them like she was doing with those berries? If yes, she would only have to follow the human to find her rodent storage to get the largest and easiest meal ever. Her mouth watered at the thought. Nice, juicy rodents, all for her! Another thing she noticed about this two-pawed creature is that she dropped a few of unused berries on the ground, so maybe she would drop an unused rodent eventually, assuming she did eat them. It was a rash, risky plan with almost no chance of working, based on flawed portions of logical deductions that made absolutely no sense and involving stalking an evil creature, but it was no use to argue with a disillusioned young pokémon. To her ravenous hunger and strong faith in any opportunity to get food, as well as to her childish desire to be fed like an eevee once again, there was no better plan than this to magically solve all her problems.

Thus, guided by her blinded faith, the pokémon waited patiently for the female to unknowingly show her the way to a food binge. This constant search for berries lasted only a short minute, but each time the human walked pass her, her heart rate increased, the fear of being detected haunting her mind. A loud weight was removed from her shoulders when the human finally decided that the quantity of berry she had collected was enough. Relieved, the predator eyed the human as she went back where she had come from. Since she had avoided detection for now and had no intent of being detected, the umbreon took a different approach to stalk her "prey". To follow a creature that large in a sector infested by heavy vegetation, using her eyes as a tracking tool would be suicide, as she would have to remain too close from her. Fortunately, she had another tool that was better suited for this: her nose. She might not be what she had always been promised she would be, but her nose wasn't that much different, if only a different color. It was still gifted of the ability to track down anything with a recognizable scent and this from a fairly good distance. She had never really understood how it was supposed to work, but she had never asked herself the question either. It was there and she would be a fool not to use it.

After she had thoroughly sniffed the ground before her to capture the scent of the human, the black vixen began her quest for unlimited food supplies. Keeping herself low for increased stealth, the inexperienced predator slowly walked out of her hidden place. As she did so, she scanned the irregular surface of the forest floor with her sharp eyes, mentally listing the risks involved and the ways to counter them. If there was a good time to practice her newly acquired stealth skills with any chance of success, there couldn't be any better moment than now. Since the human's scent wouldn't go away anytime soon, she was allowed to take all the time she needed in order to be successful. The first obvious thing she noticed was how filled with a large quantity of debris the green and brown forest floor was. Worse, many of those were those brown sticks falling from trees, which, when one of her paws touched them, always seemed to break loudly.

As an unrelated thought about those sticks reached her mind, the umbreon made a silent chuckle, laughing at the irony of the situation, a soft laugh tainted with sadness. Half a moon cycle ago, she had been playing on the same spot. At the time, she was an innocent eevee, a small brown kit happily stepping on sticks only to hear the fun sound they made when they broke. Nobody had ever told her that it would be a bad thing to do when she would grow up; it only a seemed like a game. Today, she had to force herself to avoid doing that, in order to get something she had taken for granted before: food. This was the harsh reality of her new life, where the funniest actions were forbidden, every pleasure taken away from her in order to make way for survival. It was a difficult step in life, an unexpected one, but she had to improvise. While she was staring intently at the ground, a part of her, not accepting this lack of a fun game, decided that if she couldn't have her fun, she would create her own. After all, if stepping on brown sticks was bad, wouldn't it be as fun to see how far she could go without hitting one? She had no reason to think any different.

It was with this playful view on the task at paw that the young female vixen started tracking the scent, a slight smile appearing on her muzzle as she did such. For the first time since she evolved, not so long ago, she felt like it was finally going to be a good day. There was a premise of food, nobody had attacked yet and she got to play some kind of game against herself. Everything seemed to be turning out for the best. This ascending slope in her mood seemed to be there to last as she meticulously avoided the debris, silently progressing toward her goal, her smile growing wider. However, each time she made a sound, it temporarily vanished, replaced by instinctual worries. Quickly, this distressed state became only a passing thought when she noticed that nothing had come her way; her worries turning into determination of doing better next time. In a flash, her smile was coming back to her otherwise placid and predatory muzzle.

After she had patiently tracked the smell for a few minutes, the vixen came to a sudden stop. The scent, formerly flowing in a straight line, was now dispersed over what seemed to be a circular area ahead. Since the vegetation came to a stop a few feet away from her, the umbreon deduced that the human nest was on the other side of the greens. Not experienced enough to use her muzzle to its fullest, it was impossible for her to pinpoint the current location of the human among that mess of scent that infected the area beyond. The potential danger was obvious: if she couldn't track the biped, it meant that she could be anywhere nearby, including behind her, once she entered that zone. She would become vulnerable to a surprise attack from the two-legged beast, her only real weakness. As if this wasn't bad enough, this zone also housed the strong odor of a fox kit, one that had been there for quite a long time. To a vixen like her with so little knowledge about humans, it was easy for her to imagine the unknown kit as being part of the human diet along with the rodent. A thought like this one was no comfort to her confused mind.

Shivering at the horrors that might lay beyond, the umbreon slowly backed away, reconsidering her plan. She might want that rodent, but if she went there, she could end up as food for the human instead of being fed by it. She was inexperienced, true, but she wasn't a fool to the point that she'd throw herself into the jaws of the beast. She had thought of a much better plan. When that human would leave the circle again, if only for a few minutes, she would be able to sneak in to eat the rodent and to save that kit. This was perfect. Not only would she get a new friend and free food, but this would show _them_ how good she really was and _they_ would forgive her! No more hate, no more disdain, no more hurt! Now, all she had to do was to figure out when the human was going to leave without entering the circle.

This new problem puzzling her deeply, the umbreon walked around the problem, literally. Once she had retreated to a safe distance from the uncomfortable area so her nose could pick up the human's scent again, she began to circle it in search of something that might help her in her quest. By coupling her stealth with her nose, her eyes and her ears, she was definitely making sure that she wouldn't fall prey to a lack of precaution. An obvious consequence from so much attention to details was that she was forced to patiently move under the foliages of the smaller trees and bushes, stopping at every few paces to glance at the zone for any opening. It was so slow that, before she could complete half a circle, the activity within the nest had reached her, triggering her inner curiosity. As much as she knew that she couldn't stop right now, this was just too tempting. Hidden under a bush, she focused her hearing on the noises coming from the nest. The human was making noises, but they didn't have any meaning to her, so she listened to the pokémon voices she heard along with the human one. Unlike the human sounds, everything that came out of the pokémon had a meaning clear as crystal, though it was ironically their meaning that clouded her mind more. The rodent was a bit angry about something, but otherwise, both pokémon were talking like if they were safe. Their voices were relaxed, fearless; the kit even seemed to be having fun! It was... like another world completely. Humans were brutal, dangerous and they inspired fear to those who couldn't tackle them properly. This was the way of humans. Yet, this motherless kit wasn't afraid of it, neither the rodent nor the kit showed any instinctual desires to kill each other. How was it possible?

Closing her eyes, the umbreon focused on the complete mess her mind was, trying to give a meaning to something that didn't have any. This human had made her experience fear, then hope, then fear again, then curiosity, then surprise, but now she had completely thrown the predator out of balance. Previous encounters with humans flooded into her mind, the meaning of each one destroyed by a part of the current situation. Previous encounters, rumors, absolutely nothing could be used to relate to this situation. Whereas others would be so stuck-up in deep rooted habits of hating humans to care about illogical behavior from one of them, she had none of that. She was a recently evolved umbreon, without a family, and without any good teaching about the procedure to follow in this situation other than her instincts. She couldn't really count on the latter to be of any help at all, since her playful mind desired nothing else but to forget about this human and go play with this kit, which seemed so happy where she was. At the same time, her recent memories of acting like a child had proved that they could only lead to trouble. Torn, she did the best thing she could think of: not doing anything. If she continued to watch and listen, like she did when she was with her parents to gain their knowledge, she would eventually know what to do about this. If worst came to worst, she could always flee.

Keeping up with her silent behavior, she waited, wondering if anything new would happen. It did. A few minutes later, the human scent's appeared out of the circle, followed by the pokémon's. From her spot, she saw the two legged creature walk into the woods again, followed by the rodent and the kit. Finally, she was able to see what her future meal and her future friend looked like. The rodent looked just too scrumptious. Large body, fine paws, little overweight belly, he was an alpha's buffet on two paws. As for the kit, she wasn't as interesting as the mouse for now. She did look nice and happy, but nothing to counter the hunger making her salivate at the sight of the rat. She was already dreaming of the moment where the mouse would go inside her in little pieces as his warm blood would slid down her throat. She could taste the meat that would give her the strength she needed to regain. 'Food and safety first, friends later.' was something her mother always had told her, a principle she intended to respect.

Her mind happily feeding on the rodent's future corpse, the injured beast followed the group, staying at the same safe distance. Surprisingly, of all the places they could have decided to go, they chose the same clearing she was sleeping in earlier. The similarities ended here, though. While the kit was playing with a rock, the rodent and the human were participating in a strange ritual in which the human and pokémon were sleeping and the pokémon was making light. The ritual itself didn't make more sense than anything else did, but the location they chose for it aggravated her. Had they chosen a more secluded area, it would have been so easy to end this. She would have pounced on the rodent while the human wasn't looking, but she had no such luck. Fortunately, this forced choice would soon become her savior, in a way.

Not long after she had arrived, the rodent began to make loud and scary noises with his body while he was shaking, making the human wake up. Soon after, the mouse produced a loud flash of light and then stopped moving completely. From this, chaos ensued. The human screamed loudly, then ran over to the rodent. The kit also stopped playing and stared at the rat with a worried look on her face. For some time, the human tried to wake up the rat, but when everything failed, she took him in her upper paws, both her and the kit looking unhappy as they ran back to their nest. Not understanding any of this (and frankly not caring unless it somehow prevented her from having her meal), the dark pokémon retraced her way back to the nest, looking around it until she found an elevated location not too far away from which she could spy without being in the circle. Comfortably sitting between a tree and another of those random bushes growing everywhere in this part of the forest, the stalker began a long and boring period of watching.

Long would not suffice to describe how much time she spent there, completely immobile, her eyes watching the nest in impatient anticipation of her meal. Time played in her favor at first, filling a lot of those holes in her reasoning while she had nothing better to do but to think. Those holes touched various subjects, but mostly the behavior of this strange berry-eating human. Hearing her talk with those pokémon had been weird, but her actions had surpassed her craziest thoughts. The way she was acting with that rodent and that kit, it was almost like... like if she was a mother caring for her kits. She had been nice with them, had fed them, had given them games and had looked worried when they were hurt. That mouse was lucky, to say the least. This anti-human, as she had decided to call her, was a few feet away from her, giving a to her prey what she desperately needed to have for herself. She was offering food, safety and fun, everything that had been denied to her since she had evolved. It became clear now. The anti-human was helping them instead of hurting them. She was giving pokémon a few spots to act as her kits. One of those spots, taken by the rodent, would soon be hers. With one slash of her claws, this rodent would become food, leaving open his position for her to take. She would finally be free from her misery and her abusing enemies. The idea felt so wonderful, so magical that, combined with the passing time that began to play against her as she grew bored of waiting, it dragged her into a deep sleep, into a world filled with meat, licking and games.

Inside that world, she was an eevee again, playing with her siblings and not lacking anything that she needed. This time, however, the dream was slightly different. Gone was her mother, replaced by that human female she now was. Gone was her brother, replaced by this red kit he was. And gone were the dead rat bodies, replaced, obviously, by the corpse of that juicy mouse. Strangely, none of it felt abnormal. It was just another reality, another place to be happy. Her dream went on, the actions flowing flawlessly like water in a river, everything feeling so perfect. This dream, this reality, it would soon be part of her life, she knew it. Not consciously, as there was still a lot of doubts and fear there, but her instincts welcomed this world with open paws, a trust gained only by the apparent advantages of the situation. She was so desperate for food and care that her mind didn't even bother with the realistic difficulties of making this dream come true. Excluding the strong desire to kill her prey, it was only her inner eevee self expressing itself here, coming up with the magical and innocent answer that would solve all her problems. Having no opposition in that small brain weakened by a lack of nutrients, the idea was accepted very quickly.

So fast, in fact, that when she woke up later in the day, her first thought was to forget about the rodent completely and to beg the strange human for food. Rising from her hiding spot, the disillusioned female umbreon eagerly made her way toward the camp. Halfway there, reality caught up with her as she felt the scent of the rodent clog her nose. It was so strong, so powerful, that it felt like he was only a few feet away from her, waiting to be served in a soup of his own blood. Turning her head in the direction of the odor, the young vixen nearly choked in surprise. There, sleeping alone under a berry bush was the rodent of her dreams, completely unprotected and utterly defenseless. It was just too good to be true... it was nearly like a sacrifice to her belly. At the same time, it was hard not to remember the way the rodent had acted before, the pain it felt after charging that light and the sadness expressed by the human and the kit as it fell down. Guilt was trying to influence her choice, making her decision bite her inside. Shaking her head coldly, she tried her best to ignore those faulty thoughts. They were just getting in the way of her meal.

Approaching the inert body silently by making use of the tactics she had practiced so well earlier that day, she came to a stop a few inches away from her prey. She licked her lips in anticipation, crouching down in preparation for the killing strike. She was so close to him, there was no way she could miss him. Closing her eyes, focusing on her hunger that was soon to be sated, she tensed her muscles, feeling their pain coming back again to haunt her. There was no time for it, not when she was so close! She tensed herself, more, more and... pounced! Flying into the air for what seemed to her like a long time, she growled in joy as her paws dug into the soft flesh of... dirt?

Pawing around in frustration, she glanced at the empty spot in front of her, her ears drooping sadly. Once again, she had failed. Even a sleeping mouse had beaten her at this game of hunting, despite all the efforts she had put into it! She hadn't even touched him! Worried as to where the rat could be, she quickly got her answer when she heard "Jen!! Help!! Beast!!". The voice was ragged, loud and panicked, but, most importantly, it was calling for help. Without a doubt, this was bad, very bad. She had to run away from here before help came. She had to... but she failed at doing that too. Before she could properly stand on her paws, the female human was standing between her and the mouse, and, coincidently, the forest. She had no choice, if she wanted to come out of this alive, she would have to run around the human and the mouse and into the bushes.

This was easier said than done. She began to running toward her target, but the human apparently didn't appreciate the direction she had taken. In a split second, a foot had been raised and slammed into the side of her head with little pressure. All the human had done was blocking the path to the mouse without hurting her, but to her weakened body, it did more than just stopping her. By transferring all the pressure on her hind paws, she caused her muscles to hurt again, her hind paws flinching and failing to accomplish their function. Unable to keep herself afoot, she fell on her side, exposing her injured underbelly and legs.

Apparently, she had done something to the human, because she began to talk in another, softer tone of voice. Nonetheless, this distraction wouldn't prevent her from escaping this trap. Ignoring the words and the pain, she dug her front paws in the dirt in a last ditch effort to drag herself in another direction, one that would hopefully provide her with an exit. She wasn't that lucky. As if the human hadn't hurt her enough, she attacked her head by shamelessly throwing something at it. Shaking from the pain, she quickly turned her head in the direction of the thrown object. At close range, about one foot from her, was opening a strange round device. While it looked like some kind of egg, both inside and out, it didn't do anything like one would. Instead, an intense red light shot out of it and touched her. Expecting more pain, she was surprised by the complete lack of it. Much to the contrary, it was vanishing, all her sensations disappearing at the touch. She would have smiled in pleasure, but she couldn't. Sensations gone, her capability to move was also turned off, and, before she could realize what was happening, it was her whole brain that shut down as her body slowly disintegrated to become part of the ball. She wasn't aware of it yet, but as her body was absorbed by the light, her deepest desire was being granted... for better or for worse.

--

A/N : Here is my little guessing game of mine. In this filler chapter, a new umbreon character with a mysterious past has been throughly analysed. I left enough details and hints about this past for you to be able to to try to answer those two questions :

-Who are the umbreon's enemies (those who injured her) ?

-Why did she evolved prematuraly ?

I will give something to the person with the closest guess in the next chapter. Kirby and Tyler are not allowed to guess, because they know the answer.


	13. Species Clash

_Author notes: Hello everyone. This ranting section will be considerably shorter than usual. Why? Because the famous Review Response section has been moved somewhere else. Where, will you ask? Well, on my story blog, that I made soon after I posted last chapter. Of course, since I didn't post a chapter in the last three months, I haven't yet advertised my blog. Oh well, I will do so now. On my story blog, you will find goodies such as review responses, excerpts of future chapters and random fun stuff. There will be a few secrets for whoever wants to go there, such as answers to question such as why I didn't post a new chapter in three months. For those who are interested, the link is in my profile, as my homepage link. I wait people in great number. Now, here's chapter 13!_

Chapter 13: Species Clash  
A threatening silence was creeping around the small room, as two of its occupants stared at each other with ill intent. Neither creature had made a move, both waiting for the other to do so. The silence was burning them, the obvious discomfort growing stronger with every passing second. One could only imagine the unpleasant thoughts crawling inside their minds as they struggled to ignore their most primal instincts and desires for their own good; all this, because one creature had wanted more than it could chew.

At first, the plan seemed simple: catch the umbreon so it wouldn't hurt Sparktail, then release it away from him. At least, that was what the aforementioned Pikachu had expected and truthfully wished for. But no, he hadn't been that lucky. For some reason that only Arceus may know, Jen had conspired against him and decided, against all reason, to keep the Umbreon for now. The mouse had complained, of course, for his life was more important than the well being of some random and highly dangerous black vixen, but wind can't move a mountain. After he had his life saved by the girl, he could hardly order her around. She was, sadly, the one in control here, and also one, for better or worse, gifted with the curse of the genuinely generous mind, desiring nothing more than to make every pokemon happy. In this case it was evidently for the worse as, a few minutes ago Jen had released the nasty Pokemon, inside her tent, with him, and despite the fact any common safety rule would have commanded against it. When he had thought she couldn't possibly make it worse, Jen had came up with the smart idea of asking him to talk with the umbreon to get to know her. Needless to say, the Pikachu was between a rock and a hard place. On one side, he could hardly disobey his trainer's newest (and stupidest) order, but on the other side, he didn't want to obey it at all. It was simply too risky. He wouldn't put his life on the line only to build up some useless friendship that nobody but Jen cared about.

In this particular dilemma, he had chosen to stick with the middle ground of apathy. Sitting uncomfortably on the soft tent's floor, he was basically only trying to relax and to forget about the ridiculous situation he was forced in. Behind him, Jen was gently rubbing his back, a vain attempt to motivate him. Instead of doing what he was asked, the rodent had his eyes fixed on the large creature laying down two tiny feet away from him, shivering at the thought of every nasty thing she could do to him if she wanted to. One false movement, one ill-intended motion, and he was dead meat. How could Jen do this to him? He might never know.

The situation wasn't much better for the other creature involved in this. The umbreon wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to feel after having been forced here by the evil human egg. When she had been thrown out of it earlier, she obviously had tried to fight tooth and nail to escape her new fate, but the nasty human had brought her into unconsciousness with a heinous blow. When she had woken up, however, things had changed. Her side wasn't hurting anymore. The human had surrounded her middle body and her paw with a strange white skin, that, while limiting her movements, made the pain vanish. More than that, she had found fresh meat, albeit in small amount, waiting right in front of her muzzle for her to eat. Hunger requiring, she had quickly gulped down the food, then set her eyes on the tasty Pikachu. As much she had wanted to chew on him, something told her that she shouldn't. She wasn't sure why yet, but she knew that it was related to how the human had acted toward her somehow.

Right now, it wasn't with hungry eyes that she was staring at him right, though. What they showed was curiosity, and curiosity only. There were many questions drifting around in her mind, many of which probably wouldn't be answered soon, if ever. However, she wasn't totally in the dark about her situation. The rodent's fear could be smelt, clearly obvious among everything in the nest. It was an odor she savored, as shown by her tail moving back and forth behind her pleasantly. As much fun as it was to feed on his fear for her own pleasure, having the real meal would be more enjoyable. But, since she was given meat earlier, it had to have come from the human's previous prey. And since nobody had told her about the origins of the delicious food, she unexpectedly was the one to break the silence with a question of her own. "Why hasn't the big creature eaten you yet, rodent?"

The ice had been broken: violently. Sparktail's eyes widened at the weird question, his voice staggering as he struggled to place coherent words. "E-Eat m-me? Wh-hat?" Was this vixen crazy? In what kind of world had she been raised? To the educated pikachu, this question wasn't only stupid, but it was devoid of any common sense. Only a being with half a mind would think that humans ate Pikachu. At this moment, something lit deep inside the rodent, a rage fueled by this offence to his logic. Mixed with his instinctual hate for the vulpine kind, his anger was turned into a strong desire of revenge. The first idea he got was to give the Umbreon a good dose of reality with a good beating, to put her back in her place, which was outside this tent and away from him! He had nearly given in to it, his body shaking as he tried to get up on his paws, but he found the action impossible to accomplish. There was that annoying weight on his shoulders, pressuring on him and holding him in place, preventing any outburst of frustration.

Visibly annoyed, the Pikachu struggled to get away from the weight, but it held him tightly, trapping him in its power. Giving up, he sighted deeply as he realized that it was only Jen's hand blocking the path of his impulsive actions and their lethal consequences. It was just further proof of how low he stood now in the grand scheme of things, where the weak force of one hand was enough to restrain him. He couldn't really blame Jen for doing that, but it was kind of depressing. Soon enough his struggles faded into obedience, induced for lack of will. His expression fell as he drowned himself in a pool of guilt and shame. As much he hated to admit it, Jen was far more powerful than he was and represented a figure of authority as well as a model to follow. If she was restraining him, it was because he was doing something that displeased Jen. Never would he want to hurt her feelings; the mere thought that haunted him with dread. It's not that he had wanted to disobey her, he just...

The mouse lifted his head up, giving the Umbreon a dark glare. He just didn't want to have his intelligence and his knowledge insulted by the incoherent rambles of a stupid and ignorant creature that could be left for dead for all he cared! That's what he so much wanted to tell the vixen, so she would stop with her nonsense. Not that he would be able to do it, because he wasn't as powerful as either of the females around him. He would never overthrow them with strength because...

An understanding smile appeared on the rodent's muzzle. Somewhere, under the cover of his emotional and instinctive compulsions, a wall created by rash attitude, sat the logical solution to his latest dilemma. All it took for the barrier to flicker out of existence was a good second of reflection, resulting in this valuable piece of logic piercing though the darkness of his mind. Strength wasn't the answer. He was a fool for thinking, for even one moment, that he would be able to beat his opponent using that. You didn't hit the weak spirited soul with a barrage of insults, you corrected it with a good dose of opposite and positive logic. It was so simple that, now that he was thinking about it, he wondered why he hadn't deduced that earlier. Had he given himself more time to think about his earlier behavior, he would have gotten the obvious answer to that perplexing question and maybe have solved future dilemmas before they ever showed up. But he had more pressing matter to take care of. Namely, it was time to beat the Umbreon at her own game, so he began to focus on doing that, all the while skillfully avoiding further arguments with himself.

With a renewed confidence he strengthened his glare at the much larger beast, his muzzle displaying a tiny smirk before he started to speak with a joyous voice so unlike of him. "I mean… how to explain that in a way you would understand. Well, first of all, nobody here is food. I'm not food, you aren't and the big creature isn't. It would be silly to think that anyone here is going to eat anyone. Nope, nobody is going to do that. And you know why nobody will?" he asked the Umbreon, a large grin appearing on his rodent face. Unsure about how she should react to this and perplexed by this strange grin, the predator blinked a few times, shaking her head slowly in negation and confusion. The concept of food appearing without a rodent being hunted seemed impossible, but then again, the big creature had given her food before and the rodent was still there and perfectly fine. If he wasn't the next to be hunted, who was? Giving the rodent an eager and curious look, she waited for the rest of the story. It soon came to her with the same, soft and joking voice, not that it mattered to her. She cared only about his words, as only those would tell her what she needed to know.

"It's very simple, really." Sparktail stated, and began a sort of pantomime routine to clarify his following explanation. "It all starts with the evil mean ball of terror. I'm sure you saw it before. It's round and pretty, but it opens and shoots light to get you. When it gets you, like it did, it means that the big creature captured you. The big creatures, by the way, are called humans. When humans capture us with the evil ball of light, they become our master. A master is someone that gives you orders and that you must obey, otherwise you get punished. Some human masters make Pokemon do bad things, like hurting other Pokemon for their pleasure. There are a lot of bad humans all around the world, but some are nice. This one..." the Pikachu said, pointing at Jen momentarily with a smile, before turning his attention back to the dark Pokemon. "...is a good one. She's called Jen and she's our master. It's important to obey her. When she tells us to fight, we must fight. When she tells us to sleep, we must sleep. When she tells us to go in the ball, we must go in the ball. Now, you must be wondering where the food is in all this, aren't you?" The former human asked her mockingly, knowing perfectly well what he was trying to do. Instead of giving her the answer he knew she wanted, he was taunting her with all the horrible and negative aspects of her new life. His intent was simple: he wanted her to run away where she wouldn't scare him by her sole presence.

Unfortunately for the selfish mouse the vixen wasn't annoyed in the least by his words. Granted, she still wanted to know about the food, something she made known with a weak impatient growl, but she otherwise remained calm. Only a glint of excitement in her eyes betrayed her eagerness to know more about these humans, especially this Jen-human. She couldn't put a paw on it, but there was something soothing in these new concepts of masters and orders she yearned to understand. Nevertheless, she listened religiously, eager to hear it all. The same was true for the former human, though for a completely different reason. By the end of this, he might just get the Umbreon to be gone.

"Hehe... I thought so. That's another very simple thing. When we obey our human master, they give us all the food we need to live. You want meat? Do everything she wants and be nice to her, and she will give it to you. The funniest thing, you see, is that this food doesn't come from prey or bushes. Humans takes it from a magical place where they give food. I don't know where it comes from, but I heard that some humans prey on Umbreon like you to have their meat and give it to other humans. Who knows, maybe Jen is one... of... those... huh?"

The joking rodent then blinked a few times in confusion, looking puzzled as he stared at the Umbreon, words having been cut from his muzzle. He would have continued trying to scare away the beast with his lies, but his target wasn't patiently listening anymore. Now, in fact, it felt more like she wasn't satisfied with the distance between them, which wasn't of any comfort to the one who had basically just made fun of her. The previously solid two feet between them was melting away as the large predator rose on her paws, stretching her legs. Incidentally, she actually hadn't moved at all, remaining in the same spot that she had always been in since she had been released. Yet, as she now stood over three time his height instead of being at eye level, the whole seemed situation to be taking a turn for the worse. This was only helped by the fact that the vixen remained silent, her cold red eyes glaring down at the small mouse, as if plotting to savor him. Sparktail shivered, not feeling so good about himself, all of a sudden. His mind was rolling wildly between the possible scenarios that could possibly happen, his body tensing up and his fur rising instinctively. When the Umbreon made a move, her paw inching toward him, he was ready to react.

And he did, showing no human thinking in his actions. Standing on four paws, he moved his left hind paw backward, its sensitive bottom underfoot probing the rough plastic floor of the nest. Sadly, he knew too well that the lack of an obstacle in the way meant that he hadn't reached safety yet. Fearfully staring into the red menacing eyes of the large vixen, he took more steps backward. Each one brought him more dread as he wasn't still feeling what would bring him protection. The Umbreon was walking forward faster than he was backing away, his life feeling more and more threatened with every step. When one of his paws was finally stopped in the middle of its path, blocked by a wall of human skin, he almost jumped up in surprise and relief. There, behind his right foot, stood the only thing that could save him from the dangerous situation he had stupidly trapped himself in: Jen.

Since his foot was slightly tilted left on the human skin, the Pikachu deduced that he was resting against the human girl's right hind paw. This meant that the safe zone between her paws was to the left of that point, since she was usually sitting with her hind paws crossed, because of the lack of space in the nest. Now, it was only a matter of reaching that safe zone before the Umbreon reached him. Tilting his body on the left, he crawled closer to the wall of human skin, pressing his side against it. Scared out of instinct, his ears drooped and his tail pressed against his other side, every side now protected against the umbreon's fangs. Having gotten through all the tools he had to protect himself, he closed his eyes and tightened himself in the smallest ball he could be in, his ears listening closely to the predator. In this tight position, his only comfort was the heat coming from the large human, giving off a fake feeling of security and protection. This feeling was everything he had, but sadly, it was no use against the weight of reality.

Into his ears, came the sounds of the predator creeping closer. Like a timer ticking toward his death, the paces on the plastic floor were slow, regular and loud. Between these, soft blows of air came from a muzzle, whose teeth would soon sink into him. He could hear those "Thump. thump, thump, pfftt, thump, thump, thump, pfftt..." clearly, but it was the only thing he could bring himself to do. He was shivering, he was frozen with fear, but nothing was coming to help him, not even his human. She might be serving as a shield for his emotions and body, but she wasn't replying to his silent pleads, for reasons he could only guess. He didn't want to know why his only friend was giving up on him, why she wasn't even brushing her hand in his fur to calm him down before the inevitable and why she was acting like he didn't exist. He didn't want to know why she was betraying him. In this state of panic, all he wanted to know was when those noises to stop, when the threat would vanish the same way it came.

His wish was partially granted when the pacing sounds stopped, though he knew it could only mean one thing. The clock had ticked its last and his time was up. The scent of the beast was too strong, too close. She was all around him and he was trapped from all sides. The so-dreaded muzzle was hovering over him, probably deciding where it would bite. It was lowering, getting closer and closer. His bones would soon break from the strength of those jaws and his blood would flow on the ground. He whimpered, waiting for the end to come. Suddenly...

A "Hehehe... hey... that tickles! Hehe... stop!" sound was heard, resonating in bursts around him. Strangely, it wasn't coming from him, neither had it come from the evil beast. It was Jen's soft words, coming infrequently between bursts of laugher. His human was... having fun? This piece of information, so contradictory to everything else, did a good job at shifting priorities inside Sparktail's simple brain. Simple questions like "Am I really threatened?" and "What is going on?" waited no time to activate his inherent Pikachu curiosity. For his survival, he had to unravel the mystery of this new information. Maybe completing the puzzle would sooth his mind.

Even though he was still shivering from the proximity of the Umbreon—as he was still technically in a life-threatening situation—he turned his head slowly, moving his eyes toward Jen while moving as little as possible. When he saw her from the corner of his left eye, he completely stopped moving, paralyzed by the weird scene. It wasn't scary, fortunately, but it was no less difficult to understand. The human girl was laughing and smiling in reaction to something. The something, as hard it was to believe, was the black creature licking the hand of his human friend, her tongue lapping the prehensile member happily, as if it was some kind of game. The thought of the Umbreon playing a game effectively removed any bit of fear left, but it didn't make him smile. Something, deep inside, was preventing him from enjoying the scene. It was something primal, something emotionally charged and childish. It was bothering him deeply, so much that he had to make it known.

His fear of the predator attacking him now gone, he sat up, placing his back towards the human's legs protectively. He also extended his paws in a sign of interdiction, his eyes staring up at the beast, filled with mixed emotions of negativity. "Hey! Stupid thing! She's mine! Stop stealing her away from me! She must play with ME! " Sparktail shouted at the Umbreon, his voice both angry and threatening. In his mind, this was inconceivable, but it was happening. The Umbreon wasn't trying to eat him, but she doing something more intimidating on a mental level: trying to steal his spot as Jen's favorite. He wouldn't let that happen! If he was forgotten, if Jen didn't care about him anymore... he would never get back whatever thing he had lost and that he cared deeply about (he couldn't remember what it was at the moment.)

Determined not to lose his precious spot, he kept his eyes on the Umbreon, who stopped doing what she was doing to look back at him, looking annoyed. "I'm not stupid thing, I'm Kagai, rodent. I'm not stealing new mommy away from you, because she's sharing her love. She's going to care for me too and make me better. You just said that. I want to be better. I won't be scared anymore. I will be strong, not weak." said the Umbreon apparently named Kagai. Sparktail was taken aback by the way she had spoken. Her voice wasn't the angry response Sparktail had expected, but a nice voice filled with hopes, like the one of child. Her words were perplexing as well. Predator and weakness didn't compute in his pikachu mind. It was two concepts diametrically opposed, impossible to have in the same sentence.

At the same time, the Pikachu looked down a little, the voice making him feel a bit bad about his petty jealously. As far as he could see, Kagai meant no harm, but he was shouting at her like if she was stealing his most precious treasure. Maybe she was, in a way, but it still wasn't a valid reason to act this way. He wasn't being a very nice chu. Had Jen understood his words, she would have scolded him. He had to make up for it somehow, even if he wouldn't be punished if he didn't. When he looked up at her again, he had successfully hidden those thoughts and focused more on actually replying to her. "I'm not rodent either, I'm Sparktail." he told her a bit innocently. "But you can't really be scared of something, can you? You look big and strong and scary, to me. You have nothing to be scared of, I'm sure. If I was you, I know I wouldn't." he stated, trying to ease his own bad feelings by making her feel better.

It didn't work. Since Kagai had stopped licking the human, the girl had stopped laughing and a strong silence filled the tent once again. The rodent's words rammed into Kagai's head, penetrating a sizable portion of her mind as a gloomy feeling took over her. Feeling uncomfortable, she took a step back, closing her eyes. "I... no... I'm not strong! I'm weak! He... he... told it to me. I'm weak. I'm a bad Eevee. I did bad. I didn't want to, but... the big humans creatures... they came and... they were all black and with little red... and scary... the small pointy thing took my red water. It was mine and I wanted to go away... so I did something really bad... I thought about being stronger and I became stronger. But... but... I thought it was good... I thought I did good and I was happy... but... he... he... he..." she muttered, sounding like she was on the verge of crying; would that she had been able to. They were hard and painful images, but she wanted to tell someone. She would feel better about it if someone knew what had happened and told her that they were sorry for her. Maybe it would make the images go away.

Almost at the same time, the two other beings in the small room said "What's wrong?" Worried, Jen looked down at Sparktail, waiting for him to show her what the Umbreon was talking about. Kagai was shaking and backing away as she spoke, nothing to make the teenage girl feel good. The rodent thought the same of this, with an added feeling of guilt, since he had likely caused this to happen. His curiosity was stronger than his tact however, so he was compelled to add something. "Who is this "he"? What did he do? You became stronger and evolved. That's great! Isn't it?" he asked, none of his guilt apparent in his voice.

Not feeling like answering this one, Kagai growled lightly, intending to make the questions stop. The rodent wasn't even phased; he his eyes on her. "Kagai... why..." he started asking again, but he was frozen still by a loud growl, then a powerful enraged voice "He hurt me!! He used his claws and hurt me with them! My red water left me then too! And she... she didn't stop him! She looked at me and she was... sad... very very sad. They wanted me away... Because I wasn't purple, I was bad. I was Kagai. I wasn't their little Kai anymore... I wasn't their kit... they wanted me to be gone. So I left. I was hurt and sad, but I had to leave. If I hadn't... daddy would have hurt me more until I died..."

Sparktail's face went wide eyed. The pikachu felt both scandalized and frightened by this horrible tail. He simply couldn't believe it. This Umbreon had been... banished by her parents because she was different? They had wanted her dead because of that? Sparktail could be cold in the face of others' problems at times, but this one melted his heart. This kind of banishment was unheard of in his pikachu mind; it was contrary to all sense. It seemed totally illogical that parents would banish a perfectly fine kit because it was different. It would go against the spirit of survival. The smaller the number of individuals in a group, the smaller your chances of survival were. You couldn't just throw one member like that, for no good reason! Those parents, whoever they were, were disgusting creatures. He couldn't hate the vixen anymore, not after hearing that. She was only a poor lost kit trying to survive and who was probably finding here what she was looking for. Since the enemies of your enemies are your friends, Sparktail decided that he would have to cross the bridge of his fears and attempt to establish some kind of good relationship with Kagai.

Also, he couldn't betray her. He wouldn't tell Jen about that tale. She needed to know, however, that Kagai should be allowed to stay. It was against his instincts, but he would have to get used to it. He didn't want to be the cause of the death of a child. There was no way he would let the umbreon leave the group, as long he could do something against it. Starting by acting against his body, he walked near the larger beast, displaying an understanding smile. The predator didn't even move, too shocked by her own returning memories to act. She only watched him as he walked to her side and nuzzled it gently with his body, before facing Jen. His body was screaming for help, Kagai was utterly confused by this complete turnaround from an aggressive behavior to a friendly one, and Jen...

Well, Jen was just smiling widely. For a reason she failed to grasp, her Pikachu was trying to be friends with the Umbreon. This was all good news to her. She wanted to keep the vixen here until she got better, and maybe keep her forever, if she wanted so. It wasn't mating season and this Umbreon was too young. She couldn't have kits to take care of and, if she was starving, nobody was there to care of her. She was, obviously a loner trying to survive. It fitted her minimum requirements for having a new Pokemon, which were to avoid breaking any ties the pokemon may have with its environment. Furthermore, the licking she had given her was not something commonly seen from a Pokemon she had just encountered. It was a strong sign of trust and appreciation. This Pokemon had accepted her, and if she didn't desire to leave eventually, she would accept her too. Sparktail had finally accepted her, which would probably make the whole process much easier. Now, all that was left to do was to wait...

--

"Sparktail, Sunny, Umbra, are you three ready to go now?" Jen asked the three pokemon. It had been a few hours since Sparktail and Kagai had learned to tolerate each other and now it was finally time for them to leave. The tent had been taken down and placed back into its bag, and everything had been cleared from the spot, leaving it almost as clean as the time Jen first arrived. At the mention of her new name, Kagai growled silently to herself. Since Sparktail had been too lazy to tell Kagai's name to Jen, the girl had given her a new one. The vixen wasn't happy about that, but Sparktail had explained to her that humans like to give nicknames to Pokemon, because they are weird like that, but that it didn't mean that they liked them less. He also told her that every Pokemon would know her real name and use it, so she wouldn't feel like she had lost it. It would take her time to accept that her new mommy wouldn't call her by her name, but considering how bad things had been before, this was something she could deal with. Shaking the feeling out, she imitated the mouse and nodded, then she walked to her new friend, Sunny.

Released soon after Kagai had told her story, the small vulpix had proved to be as nice as she looked. They had played together some, Sparktail joining them because Sunny had forced him to. Kagai hadn't understood why she should have to play with the mouse, as being nice to him seemed to be enough for her, but it had been no use arguing with the fiery Pokemon. She had been so insistent about it that Kagai had had no choice but to agree. After she played the game, she had to admit to herself that playing with a mouse wasn't that bad, especially since she had been fed more meat for her efforts. Everything was fine again and things were looking better.

Incidentally, the happiest person about the newcomer hadn't been Jen, Kagai or Sparktail, but Sunny. It was the first time ever she got to play with a Pokemon to which she had a natural liking, which made the Umbreon an instantaneous friend to her. She hadn't waited to see how the Umbreon acted to decide of that, all she had needed was to sniff her. The bond of almost-kinship had worked its magic, the Vulpix immediately calling Kagai a friend and asking for a game. Having a friend like her was like the best thing ever. "Yay! Did you hear, Kagai? We are going to go on a trip again! We will see a lot of new things and it will be fun, fun, fun!" she shouted happily, getting a nod in reply.

To Kagai, the most important thing was that she was finally going to be freed from the curse of this area, though she couldn't help but feel excited by those fun things the smaller vixen had talked about. She didn't know what was ahead for her, but it _was_ going to be fun. Behind her, she would leave her worries, to keep only the good memories of her early childhood, memories kept alive by the way Sunny acted. It was like having her sister back again. "Yes, it's going to be fun. There is going to be more food and more games. I'm also going to become stronger. You, me, Sparktail and new mommy are going to have a lot of fun." she said, watching Jen leaving with Sparktail at her side. At this, a sly smirk appeared on her muzzle. "The first to pounce the mouse wins."

Before she could turn around to run, the small Vulpix was gone, running toward her target. Not long after, Kagai heard. "Hey! Sunny! What are you doing? I'm trying to walk here! I'm not going to carry you all the way! Get off! Get off!" It was Sparktail, complaining with a heavy load on his body. Kagai chuckled a little, walking past the mouse and the other vixen. "This is going to be so fun..." she said.


	14. Living Nightmare

_Author notes: Hello everyone again! Here's chapter 14. I warn you, this chapter is not for the faint of heart. So yeah… I don't have much to say. I will keep the rest for my blog (point at my homepage link in my profile again). Have fun and enjoy this chapter!_

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**Chapter 14: Living Nightmare**

Night was strong over the vast forests surrounding Mt. Moon, the sun still shy about showing itself. In less than an hour, its light would come and announce the beginning of a new day. For some, whose luck had failed them, this day would never come, and for others, it had already begun. The latter was the daily reality of a small group of individuals. As soon night came, they began scouting the woods tirelessly in search of their targets. To anyone giving even only a short glance at them, deducing that these people were not your usual hikers would be painfully easy. Geared in forest themed camouflage uniforms, complete with heavy-duty boots, they were quite intimidating. Had this been the only thing they were wearing though, one could have said they were only strange men practicing some kind of action sport. A closer look at the rest of their equipment immediately disproved this theory. On their belts were clinched a few gas grenades and a handgun, on their torso were two lines of darts and bullets, and on their backs, rested a large tranquilizer gun, equipped with a sniper scope and a silencer. Obviously, these men were not tourists. By looking at the Kanto army emblem marked at several spots on their uniform, there could be no more doubt about who they were.

Of course, you wouldn't have seen this particular group. Not that they were especially secret as a group, but they acted strategically and only during the night. During that time of the day, travelers were a rare sight, and those entering the area had already been identified and avoided. None of them had been, after all, their target. The regiment, composed of twenty soldiers, was split into two groups. The first group, the scouts, was made of roughly fifteen soldiers, positioned at strategic positions all around the perimeter. From their hidden spots, they were in charge of looking for any intruder, of identifying them and alerting the second group about their position and the actions to take against them, if necessary. This second division, made of three groups of five persons, was the tactical intervention team. Equipped with more communication and high-tech exploration tools than their scouting counterparts, they searched every inch inside the designated area each night, looking for their target. The eyes of the scouts and the tools of the tactical teams made them almost invisible, free to work toward completing their mission. They weren't any closer to achieving that goal though, as they were still here every night, wasting their time and sleep, again and again.

"I swear this is the last night we spend in this bloody forest. It's been one week already and there's been no sign of the targets. Command should come up with a better tactic than this." said Sergent Stemper, head of the regiment and a member of the one of the intervention teams. A long experienced soldier and leading figure in many important missions and wars though the years in the name of Kanto, the older man was still trying to figure out the reasons for their presence here in the first place. Sure, Command had been insistent on the importance of capturing this girl and her Pikachu, and was paying them a hefty bonus to compensate them for their trouble, but there was no real reason to. Their leader had been silent on the subject. All they knew was that this girl was potentially dangerous and had to be intercepted when she crossed this area. At the same time, according to the research he had done on the girl's past, she was no wanted criminal and had never done anything wrong, other than exploring a few ruins that were classified as hazardous. Not that the latter was a crime in itself, per se, as it was just a plain stupid thing to do. If each idiot in the region had a regiment assigned to check on them, there wouldn't be anyone to protect the region. To Stemper, this mission was highly illogical and was a huge waste of his time and his men. This opinion, as valid it was, wasn't shared by everyone, especially not the man next to him.

"Sergent, you know it's our duty to obey orders from Command. If they have a reason to believe our targets may be dangerous, they're probably right. Besides, it's possible that these are just people with information that might interest the higher-ups. The girl's explored ruins, hasn't she? I'd bet you fifty bucks that she has something to hide." replied the taller and feebler looking man. It was a well known fact among the team that this man would do anything to defend the army's interests, no matter what; a behavior that mostly explained his presence on this special team, despite his young age. He wasn't in any way perfect, though. Like everyone else, he was tired of this mission that never seemed to end, but he preferred to stay positive about it and tell himself that they might unexpectedly find their targets by turning around the next corner. Coincidently enough, the man couldn't be more right.

As they made their way though the dense vegetation, each person was wearing night vision goggles, permitting stealthy searches without the use of light, effectively keeping them hidden. It was with these pricy tools that they reached a familiar open area. By far the largest field within their search perimeter, it was the ideal place to set up a tent for the night. And, as it turned out, there happened to be tent in the middle of the field, about fifty feet away from them. Upon seeing this, the tall man smiled weakly, turning to Stemper again as he pointed the tent with his arm. "See? There's something after all. Didn't I tell you yesterday that today would be our lucky day, Sergent? You owe me twenty bucks." snickered the young man. He was an avid gambler and, after a few days in the woods, he had successfully convinced Stemper to play this little game out of boredom. It was far from acceptable, but this mission was a joke anyway. Their bonus had to have some use. "Don't get your hopes too high, Mr. I-bet-more-often-than-I-please-my-wife. We don't even know who's in there, but I intend to change that." he whispered jokingly to the man, his tone more serious toward the end. At last, they might finally get to do what they were paid for, and complete their objective, and be done with this ridiculous mission. The latter was the only real thing motivating Stemper, though.

With a faintly hidden eagerness, the higher graded soldier quickly traded his night vision goggles for a different pair. This new one, using red tinted lenses and a sensitive filtering and computing system, was designed to make visible a specific range of electromagnetic waves, those in the infrared bands. Since every living creature emitted infrared radiation, as a result of the energy use and dissipation inside their bodies, their outline would clearly contrast with their cold environment. From there, identifying the species of the creatures was a piece of cake. Even if the outlines didn't tell you much for some reason, the differences in energy production between species made a good replacement indicator. It was these differences that the Sergeant was looking for.

At first sight, there was nothing particularly strange about this tent. It contained four living creatures, one human and three Pokémon. However, one of the Pokémon was emitting an abnormal level of infrared, catching the attention of the man. Examining the Pokémon more closely, he noticed an increasing amount of energy coming from the opposite sides of what seemed to be the Pokémon's head. His doubts were confirmed when this building energy was released around it, its sudden movements displaying the trademark lightning-bolt shaped tail momentarily. "Wait a sec..." he whispered slowly, looking at the person again. This higher amount of heat near the person's midsection and chest were obvious signs that this person was a girl. "A Pikachu and a girl... oh, damn it! We may have just found them, at last!" he shouted with uncharacteristic enthusiasm, receiving curious and mildly annoyed glares from the four other men. Stemper wasn't fazed though, taking a straight and commanding pose. "Team, the time for subtlety is over. It's time to put an end to this ridiculous mission."

--

Resting against a tree, Sparktail was having the best time of his life. Everywhere around him were piled incredible amounts of berries, apples and other delicacies of every size and kind. The sun was shining, keeping the air warm, but not too much so it would become uncomfortable, thanks to a good dose of wind blowing through his fur. The tree, serving both as something as a great surface to rest on and protection against the blinding light of the sun, was simply perfect. The best thing about all of this was that even with all that food far away from him, he didn't need to move to eat it, because he had Jen to take care of that. She was sitting in front of him, feeding him everything he asked for like a servant or a slave. He only had to stay there and keep eating non-stop, which was what he had been doing for a good thirty minutes already. As if to add to his pleasure, Sunny and Kagai were tied to a tree and forced to watch him eat without being able to reach the small mountain of fresh meat he had placed only inches away from their grasp. They had begged him to give them some food, but all they got in the end was to be muzzled by Jen, on his orders. This perfect world was only a dream made up of his most selfish thoughts, but at the moment, Sparktail didn't care. It was his world, his universe, his fantasy, and nothing could get in the way. Or so he thought.

Midway through an apple, the hungry mouse noticed a strange shape flickering in and out of existence near the vixens. Since he had no idea what this thing was, he ordered Jen to explain it to him, but she gently replied that she didn't know. It was with a childish pout that he shrugged if off, going back to his enjoyable feeding. The event had seemed to be a thing of the past, but it returned thirty seconds later, the strange shape flickering again, stronger this time. In addition, the distortion had bent space around it, giving off the impression that something was trying to destroy the fabric of his universe. He asked Jen again about it, his voice more hasty and pressing, but she remained mute. It wasn't that she didn't want to answer, but the girl was now frozen in time, as was the world around her, making any talk impossible. Taking notice of the bad state his world had entered, the Pikachu angrily stared at the deformation. He had no choice now; he had to fix the problem by himself and make that… thing… understand that his world was not a plaything to be toyed with.

Lazily, the pikachu rose from a seat made of his own fat, slowly and painfully. In his dream, he had eaten so much that there was literally an unhealthy mountain of fat around him. However, since the mechanics of his perfect universe weren't yet affected by the strange distortion, his fat weighed almost nothing, but it still impaired his motions. With slow steps, the chubby little Pikachu walked to the immaterial disturbance, which was now shaped like a gaping hole tearing his world apart and threatening to swallow it whole as it grew stronger. Confident that his power over his world would be sufficient to make this being bow down to his will, Sparktail stopped a few inches from it, and pointing an accusing finger at it, he gave it his angriest stare. "Hey! Whatever you are! Stop breaking my world! Get your own!" he shouted at it, receiving no response. Only more annoyed by the tendencies of this hole to ignore him, the mouse growled loudly, trying in vain to scare the dimensional hole away. Eventually realizing that his words were reaching deaf ears, he tried a more direct approach. His cheeks lit up, sparking flying between them at an increasing rate, until they were numerous enough to form a single flow of energy that shook the hole with power, but it did very little to destroy it. Very much the opposite, the electrons mixed with it in perfect unison, resulting in a blinding explosion of light and chaos growing from the hole and expanding around him. When the sound resulting from the explosion had toned down and the light had diminished, a normal looking Sparktail was left alone in the black void of his mind with a hole still taunting him with its presence, though it looked differently now. Instead of flickering, it was now solidifying, becoming the form of an unknown human. Its striking features, or rather the complete lack of them on what seemed to be a basic template of a man, made recognition impossible. "Capture. Pikachu. Girl. Mission. Boring. Capture. Pikachu. Girl. Mission. Boring..." it said, using a voice as robotic and cold as its body was. The man was repeating himself, but the more Sparktail listened to the words, the less sense it seemed to make. Before Sparktail could ask it to explain what it was trying to say, the world faded away in a burst, his consciousness transported to another place, another world.

--

Panting heavily, cheeks sparking, Sparktail sat up quickly and glanced around nervously. It was still dark around him, but the comforting scents of Jen, Kagai and Sunny nearby told him that he was back in the safety of his tent, away from that horrible nightmare. His body was safe, at least, but his mind was still boggling around with the fresh memories of his nightmare. The shadow that he'd seen wasn't natural. It was a strange presence, something uncanny that hadn't really had a name or a shape. It appeared in his dream, true, but the rodent couldn't shake away the feeling that, no matter what dream he had been having, that thing would have been there. That strange deformation had later became a man, one that didn't really represent a specific individual. At best, it was a shape that basically represented what a human male would look like, with a voice that couldn't be associated with anyone either. It had sounded robotic, like an old record. The weirdest thing about it was its words, talking about capturing a Pikachu and a girl, and a mission. It just... it made no sense!

Frustrated, the Pikachu tried to forget about that dream. Strangely, it was easier than he'd thought it'd be, because his mind was apparently focused on something more pressing and dangerous. In the back of his mind, a voice was telling him to flee. That voice, running around his head since he had woken up, was screaming in panic, alerting him to a great threat that would soon fall upon him if he didn't run away immediately. Tired and feeling like dealing with imaginary voices and surrealist dreams would just be too much work, Sparktail concluded that taking a short walk outside might as well do him some good and satisfy that annoying voice. Beside, going back to sleep seemed impossible at the moment.

Stretching himself, Sparktail glanced around and tried to remember where everyone else was sleeping. The last thing he wanted was to wake one of them up and be scolded about being awake in the middle of the night, so he had to be careful. If nobody had moved since the last time he was awake (which was unlikely in Jen's case), then he had roughtly good idea of where everyone was. Kagai would be sleeping near the right side of the entrance, Sunny would be sleeping near the Umbreon and Jen, if she hadn't moved all around the tent in her sleep, should be still be behind him, unless his nose was betraying him. So, logically, all he had to do to get out safely was to move toward the left side of the entrance, push the zipper up and slip through the opening.

After he looked behind him once to make sure that Jen was still sleeping, the Pikachu nervously went back on two paws. In the dark, he could easily discern the entrance as being the only thing he could see, since his vision in the dark was pretty poor (as were most aspects of his vision). Making his move, Sparktail waddled toward the left part of the tent. He looked a bit stupid, moving cautiously like a teenager trying to walk out of his house unnoticed to go to a party while being grounded; but he managed to reach the thin door separating him from freedom of mind without any trouble. Upon reaching the door, he started to fiddle with the zipper, moving it up very slowly.

Despite the fact that he had tried to walk carefully and move the zipper slowly, his steps on the plastic floor and the friction of the zipper on the metallic teeth had still produced some noticeable sounds. While they were of no concern for most of the tent's occupants, they didn't go unnoticed by the sensitive ears of the Umbreon sleeping near the entrance, though this wasn't the only reason she picked up on them. The dark nocturnal Pokémon wasn't really in a deep slumber, since she was still forcing herself to sleep during the time of the day her senses were at their maximum efficiency. Those combined factors affected the predator during her nap, changing things a bit in her current dream, as well as bringing her a tad closer to consciousness. "Hmm... Sparky... stop being so annoying..." she muttered, half-sleeping.

The Pikachu froze right where he was, shuddering at hearing the voice. Anxiously, he turned around to face this newest obstacle between him and the outdoors. In the darkness of the tent, he couldn't see Kagai, but he heard her slow-paced, regular breathing. She looked to be sleeping, but with her, he knew better than to believe the first thing his senses told him. Too many times, only in the past week, had this Umbreon said something, only to switch sides later and do the exact opposite, resulting in him being annoyed greatly. He wouldn't run into that trap this time. If he had to suffer consequences for his acts, it would be his doing, not hers. "Err... Kagai... I'm just taking a walk outside. I will be back soon, I promise. Please don't tell Jen." he pleaded to the beast he believed to be awake and toying with him. She wasn't, of course, but his voice had been just what was needed to make Sparktail's hypothesis a reality. Annoyed by the squeaky sounds of his voice, the vixen lifted her head slowly, glancing intently at the mouse in a tired fashion. "Sparky... where are you going? I don't see the ball of light. Go back to sleep. Jen wouldn't like it." she ordered to Sparky, using a tone of voice which, while obviously reflecting her tiredness, left no doubt about the consequences there would be, should he refuse to comply.

In response, the mouse took a step back, feeling trapped and betrayed. How stupid could he be? By acting like Kagai had been playing a trick on him, he had woken her up and made things worse. Whereas he could have just slipped outside and avoided explaining his motives. At least, the first time he had spoken, Kagai's voice had seemed relaxed, which made him come out with a simple explanation that would have worked, had she really been awake. This time, her tone of voice wasn't exactly friendly and he would need a really good explanation to get away with it. There was just a little flaw with that plan: he had no way to explain himself. The real reason behind his actions, he couldn't really talk about, as he himself didn't understand why there was that voice in his head telling him to flee. If he was to tell Kagai that, she would call him crazy and prevent him from leaving. Maybe it was true that he was crazy or sleep deprived at the very least, but this Umbreon wouldn't decide what was good for him. If he had to lower himself to looking pitiful to leave… so be it. "I'm going outside because I don't feel well and I need to breathe some fresh air; it stinks in here. I'm not going far, just outside the nest's wall. Everything is going to be fine. So… can you keep that a secret between us, please?" he asked her in a pleading tone, forcing out a smile on his nervously shaking face. Even after he had spent a few days at her side, he couldn't completely shake away that instinctual fear of her, especially not in a precarious situation like this one.

Kagai, however, didn't care much about his explanations. She was tired and she wanted to get back to sleep. Arguing with the rodent wasn't something fun to do and, if he didn't want to listen to common sense, he could just do whatever he wanted, as long it meant she could sleep again. "Oh Sparky, just go ahead, be stupid and go outside alone. If you happen to get eaten, don't forget to shout my name so I can come help with the eating." she told Sparktail half-jokingly, closing her eyes again. In her own special way, she was wishing him good luck, but Sparktail had his own flawed interpretation. To him, Kagai was once again making fun of him with one of her usual nasty remarks. And as per usual, he ignored her and shrugged it off. As long she wasn't going to tell Jen about him running of in the middle of the night, he didn't care much about what she said about him. In the end, neither of them cared much about what the other thought or did, as long it didn't get in the way of their actions. It wasn't the best of relationship, but could it really be any different between a mouse and a vixen? Maybe, but Sparktail didn't care about that either. His focus was all on going through the opening he had made.

The zipper might be out of the way, but he still had to slip through a hole barely large enough to contain him and surrounded by a lot of rough little metallic teeth; it was no easy task. Bending down, he placed his forepaws outside the tent and tried to push himself out. His head got through easily, but it became trickier for his shoulders. The teeth rubbed against them, offering a resistance resulting in a few whimpers of pain. Wiggling against the metal, his body squirmed toward freedom, not without a few bruises and cuts, but it was worth it. That uncomfortable plastic ground was finally gone and replaced by a much softer grass bed. He was already feeling a bit better, as if being back in an environment his body preferred soothed his mind and freed it from some of its stress. It wouldn't suffice, unfortunately. The voice in his head hadn't yet shut up and was still giving off the impression that the farther from the tent he was, the safer it would become.

Statistically, it was within the tent that he had the highest chances of survival; not here, where danger was everywhere. This unusual contradiction between his logic and his guts was unseen. He was used to having feelings that defied logic, but they more than often pointed to the right logical answer, even if it didn't seem that way at first. This time, it was a feeling so powerful that he couldn't keep it from corrupting the logic of his brain. In short, the feeling was becoming a law of logic. It wanted him to run away from the tent, on the assumption that it was where safety was, and that was exactly what he'd do. By knowing how far he'd have to go, maybe it'd give him some insight on what was happening to him. The first hypothesis on the top of his list was that it was related to his skill that enabled him to feel other's emotions, but it had never manifested itself in a dream before. He'd woken up shooting a few sparks, but it could also have been caused by having been surprised by the nightmare; so it could be completely unrelated. But then again, if it wasn't that, what could it be? He couldn't have another secret impossible skill, could he?

Sitting up on two paws, the Pikachu looked around the clearing. Ahead, he barely acknowledged the presence of a darker area: the beginning of the woods. Actually, he was afraid of leaving the clearing since walking into the woods would mean avoiding trees, which would turn his straight line trajectory into a twisted one that would make him lose the way back to the nest. In a survivalist point of view, Sparktail could also say that he really didn't want to go to a place where predators were lurking in a greater amount, and where the light was even dimmer than it was here. Taking into consideration all of these facts, he decided that the darker area would be the first and last destination on his nocturnal trip. If he didn't find there what he was looking for, he would simply wait there until he had calmed down. If that didn't work … he rather didn't want to have to think about what he would have to do.

His eyes set on his destination, the Pikachu went back down to four paws and began to rush forward, accelerating until he reached a moderate speed. Keeping this speed, he ran across the field, only slowing down to tackle the more irregular portions of ground. It was really a unique feeling, the one of blindly running ahead into the unknown. With each step he made, the outcome could be vastly different from the preceding one. He could run into a rock or a tree, he could suddenly be going uphill, downhill or on rough terrain, or he could find himself reaching the darker area unexpectantly. So many outcomes, good and bad, but no way to know which kind would come next; his fate was decided by a throw of dices. This incertitude was both a source of worry and excitement, concepts that weren't compatible in the mind of the Pikachu. The love for extreme sensations and risks is a matter only the human mind can comprehend; in the state of mind Sparktail was finding himself in moments like this, where he left control of his body to his Pikachu instincts, those concepts lost all significant. In his head, the Pikachu was asking himself why putting his body at risk was fun, but he didn't try anything to prevent it. He was a driver with orders but no choice, a slave to higher orders from an unknown entity. This was, in a way, a good thing. Behind the cold and primitive logic of a Pikachu, Rick was still giving orders and the Pikachu was obeying without complaint. Granted, the human had less and less control every day, but for now, he could still be felt in some of the Pikachu's actions, which bothered the Pokémon. The human's presence in his mind wasn't something he understood and he was working hard on eliminating it. But each time the unknown presence resurfaced, he was greatly confused.

Fortunately, it didn't last much longer. The world around him quickly lost one shade of intensity, indicating that he'd reached his target. As he slowed down, human desires faded away with the speed, his mind returning to its Pikachu mindset with the gift of knowledge and intelligence, a Pikachu once again focused on finding the solution to his mental voice problem. Sparktail closed his eyes and tried to locate this horrible sick feeling inside of him again, but it was nowhere to be found this time. It was like he wasn't in danger anymore, as if moving to this particular point in space had solved the problem. Yet probing the grass around with his paw revealed that there wasn't anything different about this place. There was no reason that--

Almost as sudden as the apparition of a disturbance in his dream, the sound of a deflagration behind took him by surprise and forced him to hide behind the nearest tree. Something scary was happening and he had to flee from it. It wasn't long after that he realized that the sound was coming from behind him, and that behind him was… the nest! Worried about the safety of his nest, Sparktail poked his head from behind the tree to look at the nest. And what he saw... was something that he would have preferred to never have seen...

Surrounding the tent were five large creatures with green eyes that made light. Two of those creatures entered the tent and three new burst of sound came to his ears, barely audible. PSSST! PSSST! PSSST! If things weren't weird enough already, two rays of red light appeared momentarily in the darkness then vanished. Soon after that, the two creatures came out of the nest, dragging something he couldn't quite identify in the dark. Too scared to do anything, the Pikachu waited until the creatures spoke.

"Target identified and captured. There were an Umbreon and a Vulpix with her, but no trace of the Pikachu, Sergent." said one of the creatures in a language he knew well. "No Pikachu? " replied another one, in a cold voice. "Nonsense! He was here two minutes ago! Everyone search the area to find him!"

Sparktail kept staring at the scene, frozen by fear. Those creatures had done something to his friends and now they were trying to catch him too! He had to flee! He had to avoid capture! His friends were gone, but he was still there! He could still survive! This message in his head… it had been there to save him. Without it, he would have been captured too. The voices had wanted him to flee, as far away from the nest as he could. It made sense, now. His friends and his nest didn't matter. He would find new ones. At least he was still free, still kicking and alive. It was a sad thought to leave his friends behind, but if he survived, it would easily compensate for what he had lost. It was the voices that brought him here, that wanted him to survive… he wouldn't let their efforts be in vain. He had to run away in the dark until he couldn't run anymore. He had to move until he couldn't hear, smell or see the creatures. He had to hide in a hole and wait for things to be safe. Then, he would have to find a new nest. It was the perfect plan.

Acting only on instinct, the panicked rodent made his way across the woods slowly, barely avoiding trees and rocks on the way. As he tried to escape his invisible opponents, a strange feeling of deja-vu began to form in his mind. He had lived something similar to that before. It was a dream he had long ago, a dream he had almost forgotten about, but that seemed clear as crystal today. It wasn't exactly like this, but there were a lot of similarities. First of all, Jen wasn't in the dream. She had been gone and he had been looking for her. Secondly, he was in a situation where he had to survive and find his own food. This would probably be the same here. Finally, there had been the same kind of darkness. In his dream, it was the dark void he had appeared in while he was talking with Psywave. He wasn't exactly in a void here, but it was as if it was. But most importantly, there had been something else, something Psywave had said. He had shown him life as a wild Pikachu. Hadn't he taught him how to survive without a master? There were the berries, there was the water, there was... something else... if only he could remember what it was...

Eventually, it didn't even matter. He was in the middle of nowhere and lost. His friends were gone. He had no place to live anymore. The only good thing was that the creatures weren't around anymore. On the other paw, he now had no energy to spare. He was already tired from waking up in the night, but running for so long had drained the last of his energy. He had to proceed to the next part of his plan and find a hole to hide in. His survival depended on it. Slowing down to almost a complete halt, the Pikachu probed the trees around, searching for specific signs. On the third tree he explored, he found them. It was a small depression at the base of the tree, only deep enough for him to cuddle in a tight ball and lay there until morning. It would only hide half of his body into the ground, but the roots would help in hiding the rest. He had no time to find something better, anyway. His reserve of energy was empty and he didn't want to move anymore. He was emotionally and physically exhausted. The rodent layed down in the hole and closed his eyes to be brought to a world of rest once again. Another page had been turned in Sparktail's life. When he woke up, everything would begin anew. For better… or for worse.


	15. Friendly Shelter

Author note: Here's chapter 15 (check number again) Yup! 15! It gets confusing when all the story has been written and I run left and right to review, revise, proofread different chapters. As usual, review responses for chapter 14 are on my blog, of which is my homepage link in my profile. It would be nice to get new people to comment there. That's all I had to say. Have fun with this chapter. The next one might come sooner than expected.

Chapter 15: Friendly Shelter

Cuddled against the protective dirt walls of his temporary home, Sparktail was trying hard to steal a few more minutes of sleep. He wasn't physically tired, his body having everything it needed to function properly, but he was emotionally weakened. Even if he wasn't awake to notice just how dire the situation was, his dreams had been nice enough to remind him. They had a lot of them, ranging from good to horrible, from simple to intricately complex. They all had one common theme though: he was always starring in a scenario were he was lost and his life was threatened. The first few dreams had been relatively calm, with little risk involved. He had been collecting fruits, drinking water and playing around to find hidings spots; nothing to scare him off. As the night went on though, his dreams began to include darker elements, such as the presence of predators near his nest and a sudden lack of food. In a few of those, he had perished to a dark fate, but each time he was given another chance until he succeeded and was allowed to tackle another scenario. Those dreams were fast, lasting no more than a minute each, each if them giving some new information about survival. Unknowingly, these apparently harmless dreams and nightmares were drastically altering his mind. As he dreamt, he was being rewired to be more effective and to stand a chance against the steep odds Mother Nature would throw at him. At the end of the process, there would have been nothing left of his humanity. Fortunately for Rick, the brainwashing sequence of dreams wasn't allowed to finish.

Not far from his tree, another Pikachu was having his own share of problems. During the night, humans had made a lot of noise around his colony and waken up almost all of the colony. To prevent panic, a few warriors had scouted the grounds surrounding the colony to make sure that this noise didn't mean any trouble, but two of them hadn't returned. They had each scouted individually in two different areas and nobody could tell what exactly had happened. Maybe they were just lost… or maybe they had fallen asleep in a hole somewhere. Usually, lost Pikachu weren't rescued, but strong warriors couldn't be lost. If their number became too small, the colony would become defenseless and they would all die. The search party was made of weaker individuals, whose loss wouldn't be a catastrophe, should danger still be afoot. This male Pikachu however, was in his own category. He wasn't a weak food gatherer but he had insisted on being part of the mission. The Elder had been reluctant to let him go, but it was hard for the old Raichu to say no to Strongclaw, the next Elder of the colony, his son and easily the strongest warrior in the colony. Strongclaw wasn't the Elder yet, but he had all the powers and authority of one. His words were law around here. His reason to be a part of this was personal. One of the two warriors was the only living parent of a young Pichu and one of his good friends. If they didn't find him, the poor pichu would be having some trouble very soon… and he would probably have to be the one to proceed to the ritual. He wouldn't let another little one be parentless. He would explore every inch of the territory to find his friend… twice if he had to. Fellow Pikachu didn't vanish without any reason. There had to be something to explain it, and he would find whoever was responsible for it. If another party foiund it before him, he would be close enough to protect the party from harm. Either way, such a feat would be a free ticket to the Elder position.

Strongclaw was thinking about turning around to explore another part of the territory as he was reaching its limit, when the scent of another Pikachu reached his sensitive nose. Initially, he was convinced that he had found his friend, since it seemed impossible to have another Pikachu so far from the colony, but a further analysis of the scent revealed that it didn't belong to any known Pikachu in the tribe. Personally, he would have preferred to have found his friend, but this male Pikachu would be as good as any other one, no matter who he was. If this newcomer could be convinced of joining the colony, it would be a day of celebration. Seeing Pikachu and Pichu vanish every now and then around the colony, victims of the predator's claws, was something common. Newcomers, however, were something a tad rarer. Since there was no other tribe around to provide new members, and humans came around and took members as well, it was hard to get fresh new blood into the group. The last outsider to join was older than Strongclaw, which showed just how rare they were. One would think that being like a closed circle would make them tightly knitted and wary of newcomers, but it was the complete opposite. It wasn't only by kindness that Pikachu seemed warm and welcoming creatures, they also needed it for their group to survive. Pikachu tribes weren't seen fighting for land like other pokemon did. Instead, they would stay at relative peace and help each other in case of a deadly attack from predators.

For Strongclaw and his colony, there was no other tribe nearby and no free population boost, so his first priority was to find and convince this new mouse to come with him, no matter how long it took. Declining his offer would simply not be an option. This male was needed and he would join the colony. But first, Strongclaw had to locate him. This was the easy part for an experienced warrior like Strongclaw. Following the other male's scent, the mouse swiftly hopped over branches, crawled under roots and slid under the bushes, with speed and agility that was remarkable for the species. This was the gift of strength, given by the Great Elder, which made the warrior a leader and destined him to be the next Elder of the colony, when his peers judged that his father no longer deserved the position anymore. His strength, while mostly a result of favorable genetics, was also the consequence of a special training he had received since the day it had been decided that he would follow his father's path, when he was still a very young Pichu. This training was not only to make him strong, but to make him much stronger than the nearest competitor so his position would never be challenged. There was simply no place for two Pikachu at the top of the hierarchy.

After one minute of acrobatics, the strong and agile Pikachu found his target. Ahead, between two large roots and in what seemed to be a shallow hole in the dirt was peacefully sleeping the unknown Pikachu. From what Strongclaw could see, the Pikachu didn't look hurt in any way. True, he seemed to have a few bruises, but what Pikachu didn't? They were exposed day and night to a rough environment and its thousands of ways to hurt them. Seeing those bruises on a fellow Pikachu was good news. They were the marks of effort, of hardship; nothing could teach a Pokémon more than experience could. This Pikachu had made his mistakes and it was all well; he wouldn't make them again, saving precious time for the colony. If only Strongclaw had known what this Pikachu was really all about, then maybe he would have chosen a different path. He would have avoided a lot of trouble with a rodent that didn't know more than a Pichu about how to live in the wild. Then again, if he had really known that… maybe Sparktail would never have had to worry about his humanity ever again. Would it really have been better? Maybe to his Pikachu mind it would have been, but there was actually no way to predict the consequences of any action. No event could be relived twice, no choice changed. Once something was done… it was done. There was no turning back. For Strongclaw and Sparktail, it was a new chapter of their lives that would unfold as the result of one harmless and innocent action: nudging his head against the body of sleeping chu. "Hey… wake up, brother. The ball of light is high in the great blue. There are better things to do than sleeping. Wake up…"

At the touch, a flow of electrons traveled from one body to the other, creating an electric current across their bodies and an electro-magnetic field around them. The waves interfered with Sparktail's brain, creating chaos where there had been an attempt for order. His network of neurons fell into a state of disorder and his patterns of thought broke down. Like when a power failure interrupts a download, the massive amount of information that was carefully being stored became corrupted and was left with a few flaws in its functional structure, leaving him with half a pikachu mind. With this failure came the end of the dreams and the beginning of a strong headache coming from the center of his brain, more than enough to alert him that something was going horribly wrong. Sparktail woke up immediately, jumping straight into a sitting position like if he had just lived the worst of nightmares. Indeed, he had barely survived the worst nightmare a man could ever live, the complete loss of his identity. There was no telling if this would happen again, under another stressful situation in the future, but his identity was still in one piece, if only drawn deeper inside his mind. His mind was a secret battleground, for Sparktail wasn't consciously aware of this internal war pitting his instincts against his humanity, each side led by a leader that refused to give an inch. All he was on the outside was the result of that war, the mirror of a fight that was close to tilting irreversibly to one side. Moments ago, this consciousness was shut down and awaiting its new program, but now it was back with the feeling that something not fun had happened. On his face, could plainly be read confusion and instinctual worries, but should one have stared into his eyes, they would have seen an empty void in them. The flame that lit them was now only an insignificant little dot in the darkness. Such a sight would have horrified a gifted individual, but to Strongclaw, it was nothing worth mentioning. His pikachu brain couldn't see farther than the confused body and the need of comforting. Lowering his body to look less imposing and friendlier, Strongclaw nudged the Pikachu again, then looked up at him and smiled. "I found you sleeping under the tree and I wanted to wake you up. It's not safe to sleep outside alone. Big creatures are around and they could hurt you. You should sleep in a nest, it would be better." He advised the confused Pikachu, convinced that his gentle words would reach him.

He had been right about them reaching him, but they didn't produce the desired effect. Instead of calming down the rodent, it made something snap in his mind. At hearing the word "alone", the events of the past hours roll back in front of his eyes, like if he was watching a movie for the first time ever. Before he saw the whole thing, he reached an obvious conclusion. "Alone? No! It can't be! I need Jen! Where… where did they bring her? I need her to be around! It's important! I can't… I can't… No!" he shouted like a deranged creature, gripping on the other's shoulders with his paws, trying to shake him as he spoke. "Help me, Psywave! Help me! You were always there to save me. Help… ME!! NOW!"

Offended by the crazy rodent and his tentative to hurt him, Strongclaw took a few steps back, his cheeks sparking angrily. No pikachu gave him orders! Not to him! He gave orders and took decisions, not the other way around. He didn't know who this Psywave was, nor did he care. He had seen enough battles, enough horrors to know when something wouldn't affect him in the long run. This Pikachu was scared, but he would force that fear out of him. There was no place for fear in the heart of the strong, no place for weakness in the body of those who wanted to survive. The past didn't matter and relations with other didn't either. What this other Pikachu had lived before, those he had known and respected, all this needed to be forgotten. The past had only one function, and it was to teach them not to repeat it. The rest… it wasn't any more useful than a Pikachu without electricity. The panicked mouse would have to understand that, right here, right now. Rising back on two paws, the larger and more powerful Pikachu towered over Sparktail, his voice loud and crushing. "I am not this Psywave you are talking about, nor have I heard of him. I am Strongclaw, son of the Elder, and your leader. I don't know this Jen, but you don't need her around anymore. If she's gone, then she's gone. You can't stay here and be scared. The past is behind you. We are in today and today you must survive. If you want to do that, you must have a nest. If you think this hole is a fine nest, good luck. If you want better, come with me and I will show you our colony. There are plenty of nests and it's safe from predators. Either way, you must decide now, because I have duties and no time to waste."

The strong, powerful words of Strongclaw shook the air around him, and then… only silence remained. He had left Sparktail with only two choices, neither looked good. The decision couldn't be made in a rush, as it implied too many consequences. He hadn't even fully realized that he was alone in this world, away from the people he liked, that he was already asked to forget about them and to walk down the path nature had traced for him. He hadn't had the time to really know his first friends before they were cruelly taken away from him. The choice this Pikachu offered didn't need to be analyzed thorouggly to be understood. Either he was gripping on something that would drag him down to hell, or he could free himself of this burden and start a new life. If he dug deeper into the dilemma, the real question was: was it worth living without Jen at his side? Rationally, the answer was yes. Jen had only provided him food and a nest, both which would easily be replaced if he decided to follow Strongclaw. Even the stupidest Pikachu could do much better than Jen when it came to teaching about living in the wild. In matter of raw knowledge and skills, Jen could never replace the real thing. Emotionally, however, the answer wasn't so one sided. Most of his mind agreed that she could be forgotten, but a part of him still held onto the concept that she represented something more than just a provider of food. It was that part that had made him panic about being alone, that part that made him doubt, that part that was trying to warn him about the consequences of his choice, but it was also the only part that had nothing to back up its claims. It was only a feeling that something was wrong, nothing more. The logical reasons behind this feeling were hidden at the same place his humanity had taken refuge, so deeply that it seemed inaccessible. In the end, it was this silence, this lack of motivation for his humanity to resurface in those times of trouble that weighted more in the balance and consolidated his choice. Smiling in spite of himself, the Pikachu gave a reassuring glance at Strongclaw, mildly impressed by his stature. "Yeah... you're right. Jen is useless. I don't need her. Is your colony far from here? Because I don't like to walk a lot and I'm a bit tired. Oh... by the way, my name is Sparktail."

The Pikachu raised a paw at Strongclaw, widening his smile. A good pawshake would show his good will, or so he thought it would. Reality had been vastly different from his expectations. Instead of shaking his paw, Strongclaw tilted his head for a short moment, pondering the meaning of this strange gesture. Pawshakes weren't known to Pikachu, at least, not under this form. The meaning behind the gesture was known, but implemented differently. To express good will, two pikachu would nudge their noses again each other instead of shaking paws. This let them smell their kin and detect in their smell the elements of comfort and pleasure. A Pikachu could hardly hide in its body odor a feeling of discomfort, whereas a human could easily make a handshake look honest when it wasn't. It was the way it worked in the wild; gestures were primitives, but left no place for interpretation. There wasn't a grey zone. It was either black or white, either true or false. Since Strongclaw didn't know about the pawshake, he wasn't allowed to take a guess. If he didn't know, he could either ask about it or ignore it completely. Being short on time, he deemed it a priority to bring Sparktail at the colony with the shortest amount of delays possible, so the ignoring option would be the most effective to fulfill this need. His answer to the pawshake was to turn around and began to walk away. "Good. The colony is not that far. This way, Sparktail. Follow me."

Sparktail blinked a few times, unsure about what he just had witnessed. It Strongclaw's goal was to kill his mood, he had succeeded. It was as if the pikachu didn't care about his pawshake, or even didn't know what it meant. Why wouldn't he? It was a simple pawshake! He knew about it, Sunny and Jen knew about it and Kagai... well, Kagai didn't know, but she was only a stupid Umbreon, so Sparktail had never expected any less from her. But for a fellow chu not to know that, it was revolting. Chu were intelligent and they knew stuff. He had never seen another Pikachu himself before, but he knew stuff, so it was only logical that every Pikachu should know it. They wouldn't be good Pikachu if they didn't, because he did and he was a good Pikachu. Well... he was more like a good Pikachu with his share of faults, but nothing really big. The point was, if Strongclaw didn't know about something as simple as a pawshake, what else didn't he know? He had been tempted to ask immediately, but seeing Strongclaw disappear in the foliage was enough to make him panic and forget about all that to focus on gaining back that distance between the two of them. With his front paws back on the ground, he ran after his tour guide. "Hey, wait! Not so fast! What, do you think I am a Pichu? I'm not that quick." he ranted, quickly taking a spot beside him, making sure to stay a few inches behind to respect his position as a hierarchical superior. He had seen earlier how Strongclaw reacted badly to having his authority threatened and he didn't want to push his luck any more than was needed.

Strongclaw raised an ear at his comment about speed. He wasn't able to follow him when he was walking? This was... strange, to say the least. The first thing he had noticed about this Pikachu was a certain aura of power. It was hard to describe, but it felt like pure electric energy was flowing in Sparktail's veins. His sensitive sixth sense could tell him that this Pikachu wasn't like any other, energy-wise. His body accumulated more energy than needed and was constantly redistributing it around his body, as if it was trying to contain something. And yet... it didn't look like Sparktail was storing electricity. His cheeks weren't sparking. It was possible, even highly possible, that Sparktail could release a stronger charge than he could produce, which would give him an tremendous advantage over every other pikachu, including himself. Of course, Sparktail would never be able to beat him in a fair close combat fight, so he didn't have to fear about his position as the future Elder being threatened anytime soon. "If you can't follow me, then you need training. Having a nest and food isn't enough, you also need power and strength to survive. You smell like a powerful warrior, but you don't look like one. If it takes training to make you strong enough to defend yourself and the colony as a warrior, I will have to give it to you. Nobody goes to waste."

At this game of words and confusion, it was Sparktail's turn to be surprised. It wasn't so much about the matter of training than the fact that Strongclaw saw in him as a powerful warrior. Sparktail didn't consider himself a warrior. Heck, he did not even think of himself as a creature able to hold his ground against a baby rattata. Hearing such praise from a Pikachu that looked and sounded experienced raised some doubts in his mind. There was nothing better than a Pikachu to tell another Pikachu how strong he was. He could be a bad judge of himself, but how unlikely was it that others were wrong too? From his point of view, it didn't seem to make sense that he could be seen as having some kind of power. Because he was stopping himself, he couldn't use his own his sixth sense to feel his level of energy and compare it to others, which made him feel very vulnerable. There was nothing worse for the confidence of a chu than not being able to feel itself. It was like walking in a room blindfolded. Very uncomfortable and worry-prone. Sparktail had succeeded in toning down those worries by telling himself that he was weak and that it was alright if he didn't reach some level of strength, since it wasn't that useful before. Here however, it was a different game and a different set of rules. Here, his sixth sense would have to be used if he didn't want to live in perpetual worry. But he couldn't... not after the incident in the clearing... the one that hurt his head a lot. Though, maybe this Pikachu could tell him more about this sense and how to control it. "Training could be fun, but... I don't want to train my body. I want to train that sense we have to detect energy. I can't use it right now, because it hurts and gives me voices in my head when I do. It's not fun... so I--"

"...so you keep the light inside you." interjected Strongclaw, glaring at the smaller rodent with a worried look. "It's not good, very not good. I don't know how you do, but keeping the light inside you should hurt. It's a very bad thing to do. It's very important that you learn to release it, even if it hurts. If you don't, the Great Elder you won't be pleased and you will become slower and less powerful. I heard from the Elder that if you keep it inside for too long you..." he suddenly lowered his voice, was if trying to prevent anyone else from listening to his words. "...you fall into the sleep from which you never return." he told Sparktail, almost shivering at the thought of it.

Sparktail glanced at Strongclaw, holding his breathe, almost as if he was restraining himself from laughing at the other chu. It wasn't that Sparktail didn't believe him, but there was something childish about the way he said it, like if he was talking about a parent telling him not to kick a wall with his foot because it would hurt. The concept of a Great Elder was also unknown to him, but, judging by the way that Strongclaw talked about it, it felt like it wasn't a physical entity, but a conceptual deity that watched their every move. It was unlikely for a normal Pikachu to check over his people and punish them for restraining their electricity and making themselves sick. The most solid proof was the fact that Strongclaw was the son of an Elder and that he wasn't angry at him, but worried and compassionate. But then again, there was something cold and unemotional about the way he had said it, like if he cared about his survival as a unit in a group rather than for his own happiness of being alive. "Umm... right... I will try it with you later. I wouldn't want to make the Great Elder Chu mad at me. Umm... are we there yet? It seems like we have been walking for a long time..." he told Strongclaw, an obvious attempt at changing the topic of discussion. The concept of a deity was bothering for some reason, as if it lowered those Pikachu in his esteem and made them look less intelligent than he wanted them to be.

It was Sparktail's lucky day, because Strongclaw didn't notice the mockery, nor did he feel like there was an ulterior motive for this change of subject. The Pikachu pointed at a small wall of bushes ahead. "It's only behind the walls of food. It's hard to miss." he replied as they approached the bushes and soon went through them. Anxiously, Sparktail looked ahead and gasped. The other male hadn't lied about the colony being hard to miss. It was... impressive. In front of the two Pikachu stood a large valley, relatively speaking. It was about four feet deep and fifty feet square. At the end of the valley, dug into the wall of the small hill and mostly hidden by the roots of a large tree, was a huge opening, about one and a half feet in height, leading to an underground cave. In front of the tunnel were standing two Pikachu, looking around for any suspicious movements. These two were already looking in their direction when they appeared from the other side of the bush, but when they saw him (or most likely Strongclaw), they returned to their original positions, their glances lingering on Sparktail a little, which didn't surprise him at all. He was the new chu around and he didn't expect them to look at him as if he were a close friend. They may have looked at him, but he didn't. His eyes were busy eyeing the other Pikachu walking around the colony, giving more than a second glance to the females. To put it simply, Sparktail was amazed. He had never seen so many Pikachu before, let alone any female ones. There were at least eight Pikachu around, including those guards, and probably more inside and around the place. While he tried not to focus on the females too much, since he didn't want the first thing he did here to be picking a fight with a jealous mate, he walked down the little hill and stepped in the middle of the area. Suddenly, there were eight pairs of eyes that were staring at him, some Pikachu anxious, some attracted by his scent and the most of the rest just being curious. All activity had ceased at this point and Strongclaw was keeping an eye on Sparktail, staying where he was. It was the duty of the newcomer to introduce himself. Sparktail didn't make them wait too much for that and waved his paw shyly. "Err... hi, everyone. I'm Sparktail. I'm going to stay here... I think... and we will all be friends. You know, all that fun stuff." he said in a cheery tone, very unlike him, but fitting the moment.

There had been a short moment of silence, during which the Pikachu looked at each other, looking a bit confused. As was the case with Strongclaw, the waving gesture was also unknown to them and they tried to figure it out. Meanwhile, one of the guards at the entrance had gone into the colony while the other had suddenly blocked the path. It wasn't a move Sparktail had appreciated and he was starting to step back, when the Pikachu around finally decided to forget about the waving and smiled at him, moving closer to him by groups of two. Before he could have taken a serious option on leaving, the Pikachu had surrounded him and blocked his path. They didn't look menacing, with their cute smiles and their innocent looking faces, but their presence around him was scary. It was a fear on an irrational level, the fear of crowds. There were too many chu around for him to feel comfortable and, if Strongclaw was any indication of how a wild Pikachu thought, they probably were thinking strange things about him. Thinking about their thoughts was enough to keep him busy and prevent any talking, but the rodents made it worse by sniffing him curiously, some nuzzling him in ways that he didn't exactly agree on. It was annoying, embarrassing and uncomfortable, but it didn't last too long. It did however, get worse... much worse.

If he thought that eight pikachu were a lot, then he hadn't seen anything yet. From the entrance, emerged many new Pikachu, along with some Pichu, all of all ages and both genders. They came out at a good pace, their number growing until it reached thirty. Those around him backed away, leaving a straight path between him and the entrance. Pikachu were on each side of that path (the Pichu in front) and looking at him with eagerness, as if he was their new toy. Confused at first by the strange ritual and scared by their sheer numbers, Sparktail finally understood what was going on when a large Raichu crawled out of the tunnel. The impressive mouse was almost twice his size, but it had almost four times his age, if not more. He was slow, his fur was pale for a Raichu and his skin was wrinkled in many places. This Raichu was, without a doubt, the famous Elder Strongclaw had talked about, the chu who was also his father, from what he had heard. The chu might have been old, but no one said a word as he walked toward Sparktail, not even the easily excitable Pichu. It denoted a great deal of respect toward their Elder, a respect Sparktail hoped the Elder would have for him. "It is a great pleasure for me to greet you in our home, Sparktail. I am the Elder of this colony, and those around us are my family and now, you are a part of it. I am pleased with your choice of staying here, as is everyone. We are happy to have you among us. May you be useful to the colony." he told him, raising his sharp tail tip above Sparktail and tapping his shoulders gently a few times. "Everyone, please cheer for our newest member, Sparktail!" he shouted at the group. A powerful wave of sounds and cheers emerged from the group, everyone moving happily and cheering his name like if he was some kind of holy god returning from a long voyage. This time, Sparktail didn't have a bad joke, a cheap comment or a subtle insult to say. There was nothing he could say about this, so much it felt special and troubling at the same time. He hated crowds, but loved this feeling of being accepted in a group. When he got the courage to say something, his answer was short, but heavily meaningful. "Thanks..."


	16. Passing Utopia

_Author Notes: Here's chapter 16 of Sparking Chaos. I have a very important message to announce: for those who don't know, I posted a new short story talking about Jen and Kagai's capture and how it was for them. It's coming along good and should be finished by the time I post the chapter where she returns in here. It's called Fractured Bond and posted here on . If you missed it, it's your time to read it. Other than that, enjoy this chapter!_

**Chapter 16: Passing Utopia**

The next few minutes were pretty much more of the same. If Sparktail had had to describe those Pokemon in one word, the word would have been: welcoming. Since the last word of the Elder had been said, they had been dancing in a rather tribal manner, as if his coming had been the greatest thing to celebrate since they had been born. Actually, that was actually pretty much the case. Most of the Pikachu weren't older than five years, the Elder being the sole exception at the venerable age of eight. Daily activities were more or less always the same, as he would soon realize, so the coming of a new member was like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise monotone and repetitive life. It wasn't really that they were bored with their life, though. Pikachu, like most group-based species of pokémon, had a basic understanding of their surrounding, but it was a poor one. To supplement it, they had their fair share of rituals and deities, similar to primitive human societies. While their brain power was far from matching those of the humans of the old ages, these Pokemon were alike in that they were impressed by events that rarely happened and brought something different. For now, they were lost in the joy of Sparktail's arrival, temporarily forgetting about gathering food and protecting the colony.

As much Sparktail's curiosity made him want to see what this colony looked like from the inside, he couldn't help but feel lifted by the magical enthusiasm around him. His senses were urging him to let go of his inhibitions and join the celebrations, for it wouldn't happen again for a long time. More than just an urge, it was a primal feeling he couldn't just shake off and forget about. He longed to be part of this, to feel that his life had a meaning that could only fulfilled by working toward the long term success of the colony. He knew very little about these Pikachu, but he felt at home already. There just didn't seem to be anything displeasing about this group of friendly rodents. They looked nice, they acted nice and they were exactly like him. They would understand all those things he didn't get about being a Pikachu, they would have the answers to the questions he was asking himself, even though he couldn't remember why he didn't already have the answers. Most importantly, it felt like they would be there to mentally support him when he wouldn't be able to learn or control something. It felt like... It felt like if they were about to become his new family.

This new family, as his mind had dubbed them, was already slowing down on its excitement. The various "Hi, I'm insert name of Pikachu/Pichu here!" and "You look/seem nice/funny/friendly/strong/cute!" had diminished in density and so had his repetitive answers, such as "Yeah!" and "Yes..." The Elder had been the first one to leave, soon followed by the older Pikachu and the warriors. They had more important matters on their paws, it seemed. The old ones had vanished into the colony, as if exhausted by the effort of showing their yellow (orange, in the Elder's case) butts in a group meeting. Sparktail could hardly blame them, since they were weak and prone to being hurt in a crowd so intense, but he would have appreciated a talk in private with this Elder. He would have liked to know more about the mouse that was now his leader, but he knew that this meeting would happen eventually, unless Strongclaw was left with the duty of making Sparktail feel at home. Either way, the disappearance of the more powerful members of the colony had an immediate effect on the crowd. Some Pikachu noticed this lack of leaders and left to go back to their duties. The crowd shrunk slowly at first, but it went faster as more and more went back to their duties and the mood of the celebration died. Before Sparktail could execute his plan of participating more intensively in the festivities, the fun was no more and the valley empty, as if nothing had happened. Pokémon were back in their positions, back to doing the same old thing as they had always been doing. The only exception was the strong Pikachu standing behind Sparktail on two paws. He watched everyone leave silently until it was calm enough for him to talk again. "Father said it, but I will say it again: welcome to our colony. I will help you train later, but for now, I will show you the colony, then you will spend time meeting with the rest of the colony until I return. Do you understand?"

The question was self-explanatory and it didn't even come close to confusing Sparktail this time. On the contrary, he was quite fine with the way the discussion had turned out. Finally, Strongclaw was talking about something that really interested him. It had taken the warrior a few tries, but he had finally understood that some things were more important to Sparktail than others. In reality, Strongclaw had only been lucky to fall on the right topic, not that Sparktail really cared. It was more gratifying to think that Strongclaw was actually catering to his needs, even if the two Pikachu barely knew each other. But then again, there was very little to know. Other than his stronger body, Strongclaw didn't seem any different than any of the Pikachu that had talked to him earlier. They all seemed to have been made in the same mold and raised the same way. This colony wasn't only a family, but also a clone factory. But that didn't really seem to bother Sparktail at the moment either. As long he had a nest and food, why should he care about how the others acted, if they weren't hurting him? Asking the question was answering it, although he had that strange feeling that the answer shouldn't be obvious, as if it should have been something different. He shrugged off the thought though, since his safety had to be his only priority, as it had always been. He made that obvious in his voice, making it sound both confident and submissive to the orders of his protector. "Yes, I understand, Strongclaw. I can't wait to see how it looks inside the big hole. It's alright if I'm left alone for a while. I can take care of myself, I think."

The older Pikachu didn't waste time replying. Quickly, he went back on four paws and ran toward the entrance. "Follow me and listen. Don't say anything, you can ask questions later, during your training." he told Sparktail coldly, as he always seemed to do when he talked. Strongclaw wasn't really trying to be mean, per se, but he had a leadership position to assume. He had to be respected by those who looked up to him. Intimidation worked with every Pokemon in the colony... but not with Sparktail. He wasn't impressed at all by the way the warrior was speaking, now that he was used to it. Thanks to some fragments of his former knowledge, he had associated Strongclaw's behavior to a soldier on mission, striving to accomplish it without shaking. Sparktail could deal with that, in the way he had always done it: ignoring it. Other Pikachu could be intimidated if they wanted to, but he'd chosen not to be and simply listen because there was no reason not to. Strongclaw was going to show him precisely what he wanted to see; he would be a fool to say no to that. His "yes" was hopping back on four paws like Strongclaw had done and to follow behind him. It didn't take a lot of time before the hole in the hill became everything he could see, before the light was dimmed down and replaced by darkness. And then a new world opened itself to him.

This world wasn't visually impressive nor had it anything special. Actually, it was hard to be impressed when the only thing he could see was the same he would have seen if his eyes had been tightly shut, that's it, nothing. So, he limited himself to following Strongclaw in the dark. He was about to ask about the light problem when the leading rodent answered his unspoken question without saying a word. Instead of using the language of the tongue, he used the one of image. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but when Sparktail saw sparks come out of Strongclaw's cheeks to illuminate their surrounding, he was left speechless. He was supposed to navigate around here using... his electricity to see? If this was some kind of practical joke, he wasn't laughing. His cheeks weren't really his best friends and he tried to use them as little as he could, for reasons that were only obvious to him. He wasn't about to lose his mind for the benefit of his vision, especially not in a place inhabited by so many living creatures and so of their voices he would be hearing in his head. If he had to play hide-and-seek with the tunnels in the dark to avoid using his electricity, then he would. At the moment though, he was seeing something, so he'd take note of the way the tunnel was shaped while he still could. After they had walked downward for a few feet, they came to the first intersection, shaped like a plus sign. "On each side, there are two nests. The first ones are for the guards, then the next few ones are for warriors, then we have the larger nests for families." explained Strongclaw as they walked pass many tunnels. Eventually, they came to the last intersection before a large cave. This one was different, since each side was guarded by a Pikachu. "To the left, we have the food storage room, to the right, the Elder room. Nobody is allowed in those rooms, but I can go in the Elder room, because I am his son and that's where my nest is. And, finally..."

The two came into the last room, easily the biggest in the colony in volume. The ceiling was at least three feet high, which made Sparktail curious about how deep under the ground he actually was. The size wasn't the only unusual thing about this room. Sparktail's sensitive nose quickly caught the scents of many females and little ones. One look around confirmed that this was indeed the case. The room was filled with at least twenty chu, all Pichu or female Pikachu. On one side, Pichu were innocently playing together and joining in games such as electric tag. On the other side, younger Pichu were staying with their mothers, either nursing or taking a nap. Sparktail didn't need to be told the purpose of this room, but he didn't stop Strongclaw from explaining the obvious. "...we have the playground. Here, Pichu come to play with their mothers or alone if a friend is there. Pichu aren't allowed outside the colony, except during special rituals or if they are with their parents. If a Pichu has no parents, then..."

The Pikachu's voice trailed off, his mind drifting back to his friend who had disappeared the night before and to his Pichu. The poor little one was left without anyone to care for him. The colony's rules about that were very strict. If a Pichu was left without anyone to care for it, it would become a burden for the colony. If the Pichu lost its mother before it stopped needing milk to survive, then no other mother would replace her, since they barely had enough milk to feed their own. In that case, the Pichu was killed immediately to avoid unnecessary pain. At this age, they couldn't even feel their surrounding, so it would even be considered ethical in a human society where resources would be limited. This situation wasn't the one of his friend's Pichu. The young one was about a year old and mostly able to fend for himself. However, he had little to none of the knowledge and the strength needed. In this case, the Pichu would be given a test of survival that would either force their evolution or have him end up getting killed by a predator. At his age, even the Pichu would not be ignorant of that rule. This saddened Strongclaw a little, but he had no choice. If the Pichu couldn't evolve, then he was of no use to the colony and having him killed remained the best option. When it came to the greater good of the colony, family ties didn't matter. They all had a duty and they had to fulfill it... even if the said duty was to die. Sparktail, however, didn't need to be told that right now. The elder would explain the rules when the time came. There was no reason to rush things. "...it's nothing really important right now. Explore the colony, talk to other Pikachu and try to make yourself known a little. Try to find a mate if you can. I'll tell you how to get a nest and a duty later. I really need to go back to my duty now."

In a hurry, the Pikachu turned around and ran back into the tunnel, lighting the passage one last time before it once again became pitch black. At long last, Sparktail was left alone to explore. There was a just a little obstacle left between him and his little exploration trip: he couldn't see a thing ahead. The tunnel was, for all intents and purposes, a black hole. Once he entered it and left the relatively comfortable level of light in this room, light produced by almost every electrical rodent in here, he would get lost within the maze. For being a Pikachu, he had a very poor sense of orientation, but there was a reason for that. Like every sense Pikachu possessed, this too was powered by the use of his internal electrical current. Since he was holding it, he was losing a large part of what made him a Pikachu, bringing him close to being considered physically deficient. If other pikachu asked him if something was wrong, he could show off his skills and he'd be fine. But there was no chance in hell that he'd actually try it before it was necessary. Those dark tunnels would face their master... or he would run into their walls... whatever came first. Hopefully not the walls.

Nervously, Sparktail took a step into the tunnel, then another, then a few more, until he lost his sense of sight to the dark confines of the tunnel. This was a very different feeling from running outside in the dark. Out there, he knew that that there was nothing around him, so it was a calculated risk. In the tunnels, walls surrounded him on all sides and the tunnels had a few curves. Inevitably, something was bound to go wrong and probably more than once. It was the sad truth, but there was nothing he could do about it, because of his promise. This lack of will to change anything didn't help him feel better, but at the same time, it was his conscientious choice not to use his electricity to help him go forward. He had the tool at his disposal, but he was too lazy to learn top use it properly without that strange, undesired effect. To his defense, he was so curious about learning about this place that training had taken a low spot on his priority list. However, curiosity and fear couldn't work together in his mind. Bad and good couldn't mix in a mind so primitive. It was either one or the other. His worries about being in the dark were much stronger than his desire to explore and, as such, all the joy he had felt at the idea of exploring was gone. He so wanted to turn around and go back to the safety of the deep and lit room with many of his brothers and sisters, as the Elder had called them, but his will to fight his fear was stronger. Taking careful steps, he navigated through the straight section of the tunnel, crawling past the guards of the so-called restricted areas. But as he was about to get away from them, one rose his voice louder than he ears could ignore. "Why aren't you using your light, brother?"

The mouse stopped again, sighing a little. Why did they have to have that good of a sense of smell? Couldn't they just get a cough once in a while, preferably both of them and now? Sure, Sparktail was asking for a lot, but it would have been better than having to explain why he wasn't doing something everyone did while trying not to blow up his cover about being normal. With his poor social skills and inability to properly lie, he had no chance of convincing them, or so he thought. Sadly, he couldn't just get away with saying nothing, as it would be even more suspicious, so he tried something. "I am working on improving my night traveling skills, brothers. If I am weak and not able to use my light, I want to be able to find my way in the dark, using only my nose, my ears and my fur." To his surprise, no additional question came from the Pikachu. Their cheeks sparked for a split second, almost in sync, so they could see the look on the other's muzzle to make sure they were not the only one to have that intrigued and amazed expression on their muzzle. They had never heard of a Pikachu training for such an eventually, but now that they knew, they felt like it was something important that had to be trained for and that would make them better guards. But more importantly, they were stuck by how this new pikachu had talked to them with a voice so confident and wise. It was almost like this new member had seen a lot of seasons pass by, something that could only be said of their Elder. "Yes, course, that's a great idea, El... brother."

The pikachu gave each other more than a passing glance this time, confused about that they just had done. They had, for no apparent reason, called the newcomer their Elder. Actually, they had not exactly called him like that, but it would be the closest interpretation of the sounds called their language. Pikachu, like almost every pokémon, communicated using words sounding like their name, but their language was actually more complex than that. At the base, there are only a few words, expressing their basic needs. The rest of its flavors, such as expressing emotions, titles, and objects, were intricately hidden into the tone of their voice and the way they moved. For the same word, there were dozens of tones that could be used to say it, resulting in as many meanings. In this situation, the rodent had said the right words, but his surprise had caused a distortion in the way he had spoken it and had falsely been translated it as calling Sparktail an Elder. This said, the Pikachu did know that, since their language was something they were born with, but they couldn't explain why they had acted like that. As seasoned guards, emotions rarely surfaced to cloud their judgment, making an incident like this an extremely rare event. But more importantly, they couldn't just look weak in front of the newcomer, since it would threaten their authority. Any sign of weakness was an opening to a fight for their position. Battles were, and had always been, the way one Pikachu rose in the hierarchy. If a pikachu wasn't in perfect shape, both in mind and body, a challenge would surely come from the first opportunist lower rank warrior who took notice of it. If it had to come down to it, being defeated by this new chu would be a total humiliation, almost worthy of banishment. Charging his cheeks threateningly, the guard harshly glared at Sparktail, using intimidation to protect his title. "Now, be on your way, Brother."

Sparktail initial reply to this was to blink a few times, asking himself what the hell he had done to deserve such a harsh treatment, especially after he had received a nice praise. He deducted, however, that pursuing any discussion and going against the order wouldn't do him any good. His first goal was to safely navigate into those tunnels, not to pick up a fight with the first pikachu he met. Not only it wouldn't really be safe, but it wouldn't give him a good reputation, on his first day here. Being kicked out of his new home so quickly and without the training he needed so much would spell trouble for him. Contradictorally, he was physically pumped for a fight. Part of his mind had detected the opportunity for a rise in position and was eager to get it. That part might be aware of his potential to defeat this rival, but it wasn't factoring his inability and lack of will to use his full potential and thus had no idea that he would lose, should he start a fight. Luckily, Sparktail surprisingly wasn't stupid enough to fall for such a trick for once and forced his reluctant body to nod, then to turn around and walk away from the guards and their light. At this blatant refusal, a voice in his head rose to ask him to turn around and to fight like a real chu for the position that he deserved to have and was rightfully his. The Pikachu, while skillfully toning down this voice to a childish pout, began to search for the way as his world became shrouded in absolute darkness once again.

This time, it seemed that his inane motivation to avoid a repeat of this incident with the guards made his movements more fluid and quicker. Instead of walking in the middle of the tunnel blindly, he was letting the fur on his left side gently rub the wall, providing him with additional information about his surroundings. If he suddenly felt the wall near his front paw disappear, then he was walking past one of those openings leading to the nests and he had to follow a straight line from that point until he found the next wall. If the wall ahead was pushing against his skin, then he had to slightly turn right to reposition himself. On the contrary, if the wall in front was only slightly leaving his fur, then it was time to turn left. The only drawback of this method was, as he would soon find out, that if he had to make a sudden turn on the right, he wouldn't be able to detect that fast enough and run into the wall. After moving left at a turn, he only had the time to feel his left side being crushed into the wall before he slammed headfirst into the dirt. In the collision, his forehead was struck by some rocks, making him jerk back instinctively, lose his balance and fall on his rump clumsily. "Ow!" he shouted in annoyance, rubbing forehead where he had been hurt. Some blood was dripping from a small cut, hurting him greatly despite how light the cut actually was.

For a few moments, he remained in a sitting position, whimpering in pain softly. He was only faintly aware that he looked stupid like this and he didn't have any desire of making it better. During the time he was bleeding, he kept whimpering like a baby, caring only about his little insignificant cut. When the pain stopped, the whimpering however didn't, though it wasn't his doing, now. The voice was softer and high-pitched than his, but it wasn't female. It was young, filled with a subtle mix of fear and worries. It wasn't someone whimpering from pain, but from emotional distress. The startling voice in his mind had returned, warning him of a great danger if he went where he shouldn't be going, but he couldn't ignore the cries. This sad voice was reaching deep into his heart and compelling him to take action. It wasn't too hard to understand why, when you knew, like Sparktail, that this voice was made by a Pichu, one that desperately needed care. Who would be insensitive to the point of ignoring the cries of a young child? Not him, that's for sure. He had done many selfish things in the last couple of days without noticing them, but this was a line he wasn't willing to cross. Ironically, the more he thought about helping that child, the louder the background voice in his head shouted, its warning turning into an order, as if he were about to break the most sacred of laws, which to his knowledge couldn't possibly be true. The youth was as important as any adult, if not more so, and it was his duty to help, no matter what. The voice in his head could scream all it wanted; he wouldn't back away from this one.

Decided, the Pikachu began to head toward the origin of the childish cries, the voice in his head becoming a pitiful whimper before going completely silent, even though he would have swore that he was hearing it mutter something about asking for forgiveness. Ignoring that for now, the mouse made his way through a smaller tunnel leading to one of the so-called nests. Although he couldn't see a thing, he was able to smell the aroma of a pile of leaves. On this pile, was resting the crying Pichu. The room itself was at least three times as large as the tunnel, based on the position of leaves and the Pichu. The small critter stopped crying as soon Sparktail entered the room and his soothing Pikachu scent reached his sensitive young nose. "D-Daddy? Is that you?" pleadingly asked the small creature between two sobs, even though he wasn't a fool. He knew that this scent wasn't the one of his father, but he was hoping that his father was just waiting behind or that his father had been close to other Pikachu and that it was their scent on his fur that he smelled. It was only wishful thinking, a desperate attempt to ignore what he knew to be his fate. His worst fears were confirmed when the pikachu spoke, his dreary words chilling him to the bones. "No… I'm not, but--"

The pichu didn't even wait for Sparktail to finish, since he didn't need him to. In this Pichu's mind, his fate was sealed. He had heard words about his father not returning from the attack last night. Strongclaw had slipped a few words to other Pikachu while the Pichu had been curiously listening to them. Since then, he had been hiding here, in this abandoned nest, waiting on the slim hope that his father might return. But for this Pikachu to be here, with his strong and scary voice instead of his father, there weren't a lot of explanations to the terrified Pichu. In fact, there was only one. This Pikachu was the one who had been ordered to end his life in a murdering rage, to avert the risk he would represent for the colony now that his father was gone. The Pichu had heard of those stories, being old enough for them, but he hadn't fully understood them until now. He knew of only one thing. "Don't kill me! I…I will do the test! I will go survive in the woods alone! I will train! I will be good! I promise!! But don't kill me! I don't wanna die!" he shouted in a voice of pure terror, his cheeks sparking nervously, showing his terrified face, his swollen eyes, all of this looking very unnatural on his frail child body.

Sparktail's heart skipped a few beats; his eyes staring in fear at the body of the child, as if it was the incarnation of the devil itself. His body might have been frozen, but his brain was boiling in activity, working on adding this new information to his pile of knowledge, but without any success. For the first time in the last few days, Sparktail was denying something from becoming part of his daily routine. He had accepted a lot of concepts, like eating berries and no meat, sleeping on the floor, and having to cope with a limited amount of brain power, but he wouldn't take part in a murdering plot, no matter how good the intent was. Going against his instincts to follow his better judgment hurt him, it hurt him greatly. The voice in his head became squashed under the weight of his disobedience and, at long last, the cogs of reason were turning again in his mind. Suddenly, the new information took a different route and went down the long and windy process of being mixed with a lot of little details that were deemed as useless before and ignored. When the logical conclusion popped into his consciousness, his look of fear turned into one of pure rage, his head lowering to muffle a growing growl. His innocent view about Pokémon, his vision of this peaceful world, of those creatures he had glorified during his youth, it was all falling apart as he finally realized the awful truth: Pokémon weren't intelligent and they had no desire to be as good as humans. They weren't creatures bent on taking over the world in a thirst for power and freedom from their enslavement. No intelligent creature would kill a child in cold blood. No sentient pokémon would throw its own youth out to be killed in a test for survival. It was the work of the most primitive of groups, the most dumb and cruel beings there could be on this planet. Pokémon were what the world had always claimed them to be: cold, dumb animals thriving selfishly for nothing else than their own survival. He had been a fool to think that Pikachu sociability implied more than a need for survival, that it was a choice for a better life. And this… this mentality, this absurd quest for the personal gain, this detachment from emotions, from moral, from good… this… was…

"No… No!" he suddenly shouted like a madman, dropping to his knees. Another puzzle had been solved, but this time, its picture was horrible. He didn't want it to be true, but there was no way it wasn't. Since the beginning… since day one… he had been fooled… lied to… manipulated… controlled… all this to reach this! This colony, this body, these thoughts, his behavior… he wanted him to be like this. "Psywave!! You liar!! I trusted you! Go to hell! Go… to hell!" he screamed, punching the nearby wall with his paw. He wanted to cry, to sit there and let the tears flow until he died from dehydration, but he wouldn't. Sparktail would have done that. Sparktail would have been a selfish crybaby. But he wasn't Sparktail, he wasn't just another of those blasted, selfish and moronic animals! He was Rick and he was human and… Rick wouldn't shut up until every fiber of his yellow furred mousy body understood that. There wouldn't be anymore tricks from his imagination. No Pikachu instinct would take over his mind again, not until he allowed it to, which he would never do, as much he knew he would never let any harm come to a defenseless Pichu. "Don't… don't worry, little guy…" he muttered softly, giving the scared child a comforting glance. "No one will hurt you… none of those… those… responsible adults… will touch one hair of your fur. I will protect you against them and their brainwashing. If you don't have a daddy… I will replace him… I will… I won't let any Pichu die on my watch. I make it a promise. I will be your new daddy…"

After he had said those words, the room became silent again, the terrified pichu pondering his options. When the Pikachu had snuck into the room, he had been frightened and horrified by what he thought to be his impending doom. Later, when the Pikachu went crazy and shouted all those strange things, he had wanted to dig himself a hole to hide. But when the male's voice became soft and reassuring and his words bearer of this unexpected grace, he had wanted so much to believe him that he overcame his fear of the larger rodent and crawled near him, forcing a smile. "Really? You will do that?" he asked hopefully while he inched toward the one who had promised to quench his sorrows. He didn't wait for an answer, taking this silence as an agreement, and buried his head into the Pikachu's chest fur once it was in range. Through slow nuzzles, he was expressing his gratitude and his desire to be accepted as part of this small familial unit the adult had talked about.

Lost in his thoughts, the Pikachu absently sat down and rubbed the Pichu's back, his head reaching to nuzzle the young one instinctively. He would let his instincts have their way for this one since he was feeling a drop in adrenaline and the lack of will to stay awake. After much distress, his body was more than eager to accept this affection and this invitation for a nap. Furthermore, it was only in the world of dreams that he would be able to do what he truly wanted to do at this moment. Tiredly, the Pikachu laid on his side while petting the Pichu, his eyes closing as his mind drifted away from reality, back into Psywave's realm, where the crazy rat would get the ass kicking he so justly deserved.


	17. Hostile Takeover

Author Notes: Here's chapter 17

_Author Notes: Here's chapter 17. If anybody didn't read Fracture Bond, it's your last chance to go read it, because next chapter, you will be spoiled… probably… I don't know actually. If anybody actually goes to my blog and feel like commenting, I would probably need input on something. With the ending of FB, I'm kind of confused about what to do. Anyway… responses are on my blog and all that. Enjoy this chapter!_

**Chapter 17: Hostile Takeover**

For all those times Rick had come to this place, never had the dream world looked the same twice. This time was no different. Whereas he would have expected his surroundings to be the brown and warm comfort of his nest, what was shown to him was unlike anything he had seen in those dreams. Yet, this gray cement floor, those metallic walls, those devices of all sizes and kinds and that huge pod towering over him, all of this was strangely familiar. For some reason, he was back in this place again, where it had all begun and where it would end one day, should he be lucky enough to find this place again. Unlike the short minutes he remembered spending in this room, there was no sound of machinery, no ticking of computer devices. This place was only a shadow of itself, a dead monument to the foolishness of man. Rick was standing in the middle of this room, his black rodent eyes staring absently at some fissure in the cold floor. "How long has it been since I last came to this place? How long will it be before I return? Will I ever… see my human body again? Why am I even fighting? This room is… so far away from the colony, so…"

As he was lost in his ramblings, something began to shine in the corner of the room, a ghost taking shape there. The outlines of this ghost became more defined, taking a human shape, one that was definitely female. Jen. "Rick… why are you talking like this? Didn't I tell you to smile? There are many things to see in this world… many wonderful things. Are you going to look down at everything because it looks too hard? Do you remember what I told you, remember my past. Remember the story of that little girl who left home to explore the world alone, with Pokémon as her only friends? Remember the hardships? Remember the guys who tried to flirt with me only because I had a pretty face, only to end up having their ass kicked? I never backed down when my principles were hurt, I always fought adversity. If I could do it… you can too." said the girl, displaying a bright smile. The mouse stared at her, a light blush appearing on his cheeks, making them even redder. "Yes, Jen, I remember. I have only known you for a week, but you've been the only one to ever care for me… I… I think I admired you and I… I just let them take you away. When it really counted, I wasn't there for you. Did I even deserve that friendship and that trust? Not at all…"

Sighing, he looked away from the ghostly figure, feeling worse about himself. He wanted to tell her how much he was sorry about what had happened that night in the clearing, but the words wouldn't come out. Even if they did, this wasn't really Jen. The real girl was lost, kept somewhere or maybe she was dead. No… he hadn't really deserved her friendship. "And had you deserved mine, little tasty treat?" asked another voice, a bitter one he could hardly forget. This voice materialized itself next to Jen as the ghost of Kagai, along with Sunny, Leafty and Steamer. "I don't think you did. If anything, you should have been lunch. And you know why I didn't eat you? Not only because Jen asked me not to do it and because I had plenty of food without having to hunt, but because I thought that we could be friends. I thought so… but I was wrong. All those moons, you kept annoying and insulting me, you took away my food as a joke and you did everything to make me feel unwelcome. Is that how a friend should act? You are lucky still to be alive today, rat. Do me a favor and stop being so stupid. Show the real rat who's the boss around here for us, ok?" the Umbreon asked, followed by a few cheers from the other Pokémon. Before Rick could say anything, the five ghosts faded away, replaced by the solid body of a Pichu, one looking like it had received a beating. His ears were missing their tip, his limbs were bleeding and his body was scarred everywhere. Despite the horrifying appearance, the identity of this Pichu was no mystery to Rick. Apparently, Psywave hadn't played the last card in his deck. The Pichu turned around to face Rick, a malicious aura emanating from his injured body.

"You think that we won, Rick? You think that this is over? You are fooling us. I was offering us the painless way out of this. Why do we keep fighting? We have no reason to. We are stuck in the body of a mouse. We… you don't get it, do you? Don't you remember our dream, our desire to be a Pokémon? Don't you remember those evenings as a child, when we were watching those Pokémon battles on the box with moving pictures and asking ourselves how it would feel to be one of them? Now that we finally have the opportunity to find out, we don't want it anymore? Is that what you make of our dream, of our childhood? You are killing it!"

As the Pichu was speaking, Rick was struck by how innocent Psywave's words were. The youth was speaking as if the world didn't have constraints, as if there were no consequences to their actions. As if… as if entering the pod of an unknown machine was a good thing to do, as if sneaking into an unsupervised laboratory in the middle of the night was the best idea ever. Suddenly, Rick didn't feel much like hurting Psywave. If he had to be mad at him for trying to make a childhood dream true, he could be mad at himself for ignoring the most basic of safety measures, only because he was acting on impulse, like… like a child would. He was no better than Psywave, for the Pichu seemed to be nothing more than a younger form of himself, the representation of his inner desires, bound to nothing more than the innocence and selfishness of a child. Judging by his injured body, his childhood dreams had received one hard reality check, but Psywave was still struggling to keep them alive. He couldn't allow that to happen. "Psywave… look… I'm… sorry… you were both right and wrong. We are fools, true… but our childhood is a thing of the past and we have to accept it. There is no such thing as intelligent Pokémon. They have the potential to show great things, as every creature on this planet does, but… trying to find something that doesn't exist, only because we want some fantasy, some imaginary world to be real, that was extremely childish. And look where it led us? We are stuck as chu, Psywave. This is where foolishness led us. But… is that a reason to give up? If there is something you should know well, it is that children always try to see the positive in most things. We may have lost many concepts, many words and many ideas, but if you had taken a look around us, you would have seen that these Pikachu are worse. They are living in the dark, like cavemen. If we can't go back to civilization, we can make ours here. We can show these Pokémon what it is to be human. I agree that it'll be very hard, but at this point, I'd prefer to cling to some humanity rather than lowering myself to being something I am not. These Pikachu could taste such joys as moral and technology and who knows… maybe there is a way to make our childhood dream come true after all, at least in this lost colony in the middle of nowhere, don't you think?"

The Pikachu gave the youth a smile and walked close to him, offering a paw in truce. The Pichu stared at it in confusion, raising an ear. He was still weighing the pros and cons of Rick's offer with as much logic he could muster for the task, which was very little. He didn't really understand why Rick wanted to act serious, but he was happy that the Pikachu wasn't mad at him anymore. As Rick spoke, his Pichu body had healed and his fur had recovered its healthy yellow tint. Psywave may have been selfish and tried to shroud Rick behind the mind of a Pikachu, all of this to blindly make a childhood dream come true, but he was able to admit his faults when given the proof. The Pichu didn't know what he was in this mind, what he represented in here, but he knew that his duty was to make Rick happy, no matter what. If Rick didn't want to be a Pokémon, then he wouldn't be, at least in mind. Psywave had tried to enforce a dream based on a fake view of the world and he was being punished for that. His punishment was the realization that being a Pokémon wasn't what Rick truly wanted and that it hurt him to be one. His presence here wasn't needed anymore. It was his time to go. "Yeah… we sure have grown from this experience, haven't we? If we do come back here one day, we will do things differently and much better. If we don't… well… at least that Umbreon will have got what she deserved. Hehe… sorry, Rick, sorry for having been so mean. It was nice knowing you. I'm sure daddy and mommy would have been proud of you. Farewell… oh… and if you see Jen again, tell her for me that we think she's very nice and kind of pretty. Hehehe…"

Psywave winked at Rick and giggled as his body became translucent, becoming a ghost vanishing into the void of imagination it came from, leaving Rick alone with his thoughts. Recalling those last words in his mind, the Pikachu chuckled. Despite trying to be nice, Psywave couldn't leave without saying one last embarrassing thing. Some things would never change, it seemed. Grass would always be green, the sun would always be yellow and Psywave would always be an . Maybe it was better that way. "Yup… as if you'll ever be gone, Psywave. A crazy imaginary friend like you doesn't leave so easily. It would be too good to be true." The mouse said with another chuckle, his eyes moving between the machine and the spot Jen's ghost had been, sighing once more. "I hope I see this machine or Jen again. I miss both of you…" he muttered sadly as the room faded away too, his mind leaving once again the world of dreams. This time, he wasn't angry or mad upon leaving, nor was he distressed. For once, he left it with his heart at peace and his mind mostly together, both heading side by side toward a new goal. This colony would know what Rick "Sparktail" Tortoas was made of.

--

While Rick was sleeping peacefully, Strongclaw had spent a few hours looking for his lost friend, but without any success. The Pikachu was nowhere to be found and his son would be the one to pay for his disappearance. It would be a sad day for the colony, one of great loss, but at least, Sparktail would help to fill the hole left by the departure of his friend and soon, of his son, unless he miraculously proved that he was able to live like a grown up. Sadly, Shocky wasn't the strongest Pichu around, nor was he the wittiest one. There was no chance that he would survive the test. Under a different time, under different circumstances, maybe things would have turned out better for the Pichu, but for now, he had to find the poor child and tell him that his father was gone and with him, his life in the colony. Upon his return to the colony empty pawed, every Pikachu knew what was going to happen, but none attempted to stop Strongclaw from accomplishing his duty. Most of them just didn't care about the fate of one Pichu and those who did knew better than to go against the rules of their colony. There was no place in the colony for a chu who didn't agree to the rules, after all. Of course, all that was needed to save this Pichu was for someone to adopt him into their family, but no one would do that either. Pikachu didn't normally care about Pichu they didn't give birth to. Despite being in a colony, they were all really only an association of closed families who never interacted with each other, other than to contribute to the colony's stack of food and to the defense in case of an attack. The only case of interaction was when Pichu of different families played together and they were heavily watched by their mother.

This was why, when Strongclaw finally found the Pichu, he was left speechless. Instead of finding him sleeping alone in a corner and shivering in fear, he found him sleeping peacefully, cuddled against Sparktail. The Pikachu was also sleeping and had covered the Pichu with his tail protectively. Strongclaw didn't know what to make of this. Never had a Pikachu shown compassion toward another like this, not in this way. It seemed that Sparktail was more special than he had thought at first. Not only did he have an aura of power, but he cared about others more than anyone else did. Right now, the powerful warrior couldn't help but feel intimidated by the smaller Pikachu. He felt small compared to this stranger who came out of nowhere and this was not good. Could Sparktail… could Sparktail try to challenge his position one day? He hoped not, but he could never be too cautious. Like the guard before, he would play the card of intimidation to make sure that his authority would be respected. Rising on two paws and taking a loud and commending voice, the mouse tried to look as large and imposing as he could. "Sparktail! Shocky! Wake up! That's an order!"

In response, the Pichu whimpered and hugged Sparktail with his little paws, not wanting to leave the comfort of his newfound protector. The same could have been said of Rick, but he knew where his responsibilities laid. Sitting up grumpily, as he did every time he was woken up abruptly, he looked up at Strongclaw and he gave him a stern glare, his paws rubbing against the child comfortingly. "Yes? Coming to harm this innocent child, Strongclaw? Well, I have bad news for you: you are not going to touch him. I'm taking him under my care. Do you have anything to say about that?" he barked at the larger rodent, showing no fear despite opposing himself to one of the leaders of this group. Rick knew how risky it was to act like this, but he did not care when the life of a child was on the line. The child seemed to agree with Rick, cuddling against him even more. It was this reaction from the child that prevented an outburst of anger from Strongclaw, whose heart had been softened by the antics of the young Pichu. Had the young one not been there, he would have pounced Sparktail and shown him who was in charge here, but the young pichu was proving Sparktail right. If the newcomer didn't take care of that child, nobody would and the Pichu would have to leave. Nobody wanted that when there was an alternative to help strengthen their numbers. Swallowing his pride, Strongclaw nodded at Sparktail reluctantly. "His father died and Shocky would have had to leave, so you can take care of him if you want. Just… don't talk to me that way again, Sparktail. You have been warned. You can take this nest too, it was free. Come to the Elder room with Shocky, we will have to talk about this with the Elder, as well as give you your duty. You will have access granted by the guard."

Without further adieu, the frustrated warrior left the nest, leaving Rick with his new son. The former human nuzzled the sleeping mouse tenderly to wake him up. It was strange to think that he had just adopted this Pichu. Usually, your son wasn't a Pokémon, but this wasn't really a normal situation. "Hey… wake up, little guy… you're safe, nobody is going to throw you outside the colony or any other stupid thing like that." he said as the young mouse opened his eyes to look up at Sparktail anxiously. He was happy that everything was going to be fine, but something was still bothering him greatly. "Where… where is my daddy?" he asked pleadingly, his little ears drooping in sadness. Rick glanced down at the Pichu, shaking his head at such a sad sign. He had forgotten that he would have to tell him what had happened to his father and that he would never be back. This was something extremely difficult to say and Rick had never been praised for his communication skills and he knew it perfectly. This poor child would get a cold shower very soon. "Well… your daddy, he… err… well… how to put that in a way you will understand. Umm… he was taken away and he will never come back to the nest. Sorry... but… err… I'm here to be your new daddy, if that's any consolation… err… yeah… sorry again…"

So much for subtlety, one would say. Fortunately for Rick, the Pichu knew that this was probably going to happen and wasn't too shaken up by the news. He did whimper and sob at hearing the confirmation of the bad news, but his innocent mind began to push all that behind him to focus on the happy things. He would miss his father, but this new male didn't seem too bad either. When he was scared, he had helped him to feel better and he had offered him warmth. As long he wasn't thrown out of the colony and someone was there to make him feel safe, he would be happy. After barely avoiding exile, he had no reason not to be. He nuzzled Sparktail with his head and smiled. "It's ok. I will be fine if you are there to protect me, new daddy. Will you show me how to use my electricity, new daddy?" asked innocently, sounding like he had forgotten about his old father already. This lack of emotional attachment silenced Rick for a few seconds, until he reminded himself that this Pichu wasn't any different from any of the other chu here when it came to moral, sadly. "Uh… yes, I will teach you about that, I guess… umm… you are Shocky, right? I'm, Sparktail."

The Pichu blinked a few times and then smiled widely at Sparktail, happy that his name was known. The lack of any obvious "yes" head sign from Shocky was greatly annoying Rick though, and if he was going to make things better around here, he would start with the basics. "Err… you know, I know a good way to say yes or no without talking and I'm going to teach it to you. To say yes, you move your head like this." he told Shocky, doing an exaggerated nod with his head. "…and to say no, you move your head like this." he added, completing his explanation by shaking his head vigorously. "You should try it. It makes talking with others so much easier. Can you show me how do say yes with your head? I think I forgot…"

The Pichu giggled at this, thinking that Sparktail was very funny for forgetting about something he had just shown, then nodded vigorously. Rick smiled and clapped his paws together, faking recognition. "Oh! I remember now! Oh… and how do you say no? I think I forgot that too… I have a bad memory." He said with a sly smile, enjoying this little father-son bonding. During the following minutes, he made sure that Shocky understood the concepts of nodding and shaking his head and then he taught him a few more human ways of communicating easily. He could easily have gone on like this for a few hours, so much was the fun he was having, and so great was his feeling of pride in this little pichu, but he knew that there would be a lot of time for that later. For now, duty was waiting. "Good, Shocky. You have learned a lot today. I think I'm going to give you one berry as a reward, as soon I find some. But we really have to go to the Elder room now. So, you are going to be a nice Pichu and lead the way for me, because I goet lost in here, and I'll give you a second berry for that." he said, stressing on the words one and second, since he had just taught Shocky to count to three, using his foot claws. The pichu nodded and ran out of the room happily, prompting a shout from the Pikachu , who barely had time to follow the source of light before it vanished down the tunnels. "Hey, wait for me, Shocky! You are supposed to show me the way, not leave me behind! You playful little chu!"

At this frantic speed, the trip was very short. In no time, they had traveled the distance between their new nest and the entrance to the Elder room, guarded by the same guard as before. This time, the guard stepped aside to let the two rodents pass, not that it mattered since Shocky had long since ran past the guard and into the room, zipping through with agility that no Pikachu would be able to keep up with. Normally, in that case, the Pichu would get his due punishment from the Elder himself for trespassing into his room, something every Pichu had done and been punished for at least once. On this special occasion, since they had been invited, he wouldn't be punished, but the guards wouldn't have been able to tell anyway, because it was kind of hard to identify a Pichu running at full speed down a dark tunnel. The only thing they did was to give Sparktail a glare as he entered the room, like if he were responsible for this unwanted intrusion. Rick shrugged it off, of course, since he couldn't care less about the way these Pikachu looked at him. They would have had to get used to him acting strange, because it was only the beginning. Speaking of strange, Rick had to admit that the Elder room was unique. The first thing he noticed was that this room was the only one in the colony with some kind of light source. The room, shaped like half a sphere, was at least four feet high at its highest point. At the very center of the roof was a light well, illuminating the room with a faint light. Most importantly, it was shining directly on the center of the room like a beacon from heaven.

On this spot, was placed an imposing rock, on which was sitting the aged Raichu. The beast was almost twice his size, but Rick was not to be impressed by the raichu because his size was the only thing he had going for him. His orange fur had lost its shine, his teeth were either missing or in a bad state, his skin was covered with wrinkles and he was looking at him without much conviction and tiredly. This explained why Strongclaw was almost acting as if he were the Elder already… this old Raichu obviously wouldn't be alive for much longer. From the look of it, Rick concluded that it was a miracle that this living fossil wasn't dead already. However, having a zombie for a leader wasn't a reason to be impolite, especially with Strongclaw standing at the Elder's side proudly. The Pikachu lowered his body and bowed respectfully in front of 'his' leader, though from the corner of his eye, he was looking around for Shocky. When he found the Pichu heading toward what seemed to be a pile of berries and seeds, Rick immediately straightened his body and glared at the Pichu disapprovingly. "Shocky! Come here right now! Those berries aren't yours! If you don't sit near me right now, you will only have one berry, instead of two."

Hearing this threat, the Pichu stopped moving and wondered about what it entailed. His little brain was trying to remember how much one and two berries were. Using the mental image of Sparktail's foot paw to remember, he quickly realized that one berry was less than two. Shaking his head guiltily, he moved back near Sparktail and sat by his side and then smiled innocently at the Elder, a crude attempt at making the old chu forget about his failed attempt at stealing his food. The old chu and his son did stare momentarily at Shocky and Rick, but not for the reason the Pichu was worried about. They had not failed to notice how strange the Pichu had acted and how weird the words Rick had used were. Neither chu spoke for some time, until the elder broke the silence with a low-pitched and weak sounding voice. "Tell me young one, what is this one and two he spoke of?"

As innocently as a Pichu could be when asked a question about something that sounded obvious, Shocky giggled and pointed at Sparktail cheerfully. "New daddy Sparkytail taught me about that. He called those words 'numbers'. They are used to tell how many things we have. Like… err… I have one head, and two eyes and three claws thingy. There is one stone, and one Elder, and two Pikachu and three grown-ups in this room and there is… there is… err…" he said, pointing at the pile of berries in confusion. "I dunno how it's called when it's not one, two or three, but I'm sure Sparkytail will teach me. He is the best new daddy ever!" he said happily, giggling and nuzzling Sparktail again. The Pikachu gladly returned this gesture, though his focus was more on the two leading figures in front of him, who were now giving him a curious look, similar to someone hearing a bad joke and not knowing whether to laugh at the joke or the one who made it. Becoming anxious because of this silence, Rick was about to shout that it was his right to teach Shocky whatever he wanted, but he was interrupted by the Elder before one word could be spoken. "You seem to know a lot of things, young Sparktail, but know that no amount of knowledge will equal the experience of living many seasons and seeing everything a chu can see in his life. You may be able to tell how many things there is, but I have fought more times than your words can tell. I have heard the words of the guard earlier, praising your ideas. If you think that you can walk around here and corrupt every chu with your ideas, know one thing: you… will have to fight for my position. FIGHT! Have I have been understood, young one?"

Rick had many qualities, but diplomacy was not one of those he possessed. The former human had been holding his laugh while the old Raichu was speaking, but as soon the Elder was done with his speech, Rick couldn't hold it anymore. He burst out in laugher and rolled on his back. "Hahahaha!! You have seen everything? I'm sure you have never even left this colony! Oh, I'm the great and powerful Elder, but I'm scared of the new Pikachu who can count. You are ridiculous. Ridiculous. You are so old that I could beat you with one eye closed and one paw behind my back! Hahaha!! You are a joke."

Strongclaw took a step back and so did Shocky, the Elder now growling at Sparktail threateningly. The Pikachu heard this and went back on his feet and stopped laughing, instead giving the Elder a cold glare. This was the last straw. "Sure, growl at me, Elder. You want to scare me? Come on, big fat old chu, be realistic. I'm not scared of you. You may be big, but you are also old. Anyone fighting you in a duel could beat you. You don't need strength to know that, only knowledge. People around here seem to lack a lot of that. You don't even know how to count. Well, I will teach you a counting lesson. One…"

Without warming, Rick dashed at the Elder and punched him with force in the middle of the stomach, throwing the Elder off balance, the poor weak rodent falling off the rock on his back in the dirt. "…is the number of hit needed to initiate a battle. Two is the number of combatants in a duel. And three… is the number of weak spots on a male raichu's body. I just showed you one of them. Let me show you the others." He shouted defiantly, taking a few steps back to give the Elder some space to position himself. He wasn't about to cheat his way to victory; he had more honor than that. On his side of the room, the Raichu had indeed expected Sparktail to do like any other Pikachu and take the opportunity to finish him off while he was on ground, but no killing blow came to him. Confused, he lifted himself back on four paws and slowly advanced on Sparktail, who was in a battle posture, on two paws. "You should have finished me when I was on the floor, young Sparktail. You made a deadly mistake. Now, I will show you why I am the Elder and why you will never be!" he shouted angrily, suddenly charging at Rick.

The Pkachu didn't move or even try to place himself on four paws. The Elder was big, but he was slow like one aged as him should be. "Another weak spot on a Raichu's body is his face. Which can easily be taken care of with…" he smirked as the Raichu began to charge at him. "Three…" he raised his paw "…two…" he closed his fist and focused his strength in his arm "…one…" he threw his arm forward as if it had been released from a spring "… and… BAM!" His fist violently made contact with the raichu's nose. The beast was stopped on the spot and waddled confusingly back onto two paws. One paw was holding his face and the other gripping his torso. He did look shaken, but not only from the blow. His exhausted breathing suddenly became irregular and faint and his front paws fell back on the floor. He struggled on his paws for a few seconds before collapsing, falling unconscious. Then… the whole colony became silent. A few females, who had heard the sounds of the battle, as well as the guards, Strongclaw and Shocky, were watching as their Elder was defeated at the paws of the new Pikachu. Then, something unexpected happened. There had been no rage and no angry shouts. On the contrary, every Pikachu lowered itself to the ground and Strongclaw shouted, soon followed by others. "The Elder has been defeated! Hail to the new Elder, hail to Sparktail!"


	18. Rising Order

_A/N: Here is chapter 18. I know it's been a long time, but I had to think about how I wanted the story to go after the plot twist in Fragmented Bond that screwed up the rest of my story. I was also very lazy, but that's only me. Anyway… this is not the last chapter like I said it would be, but the next one could be it, but I'm not sure. I guess we will see._

**Chapter 18: Rising Order  
**

"Wh-what?" Rick was frozen in stupor, his gaze moving between the Pikachu, the hardened face of Strongclaw and the limp body of the old Elder on the floor. He couldn't become the Elder just because he taught him a lesson in the midst of temper fit, could he? This didn't make a lick of a sense! But… then again… he was in a Pikachu colony, where these rodents lived like prehistoric men, if not worse. It was only in primitive groups that you saw such things as sacrifices, people's life being built on the orders of a higher deity, and leadership to be a matter of power. Maybe it did make sense that by taking down their Elder, he would become the new one. Their leader had fallen from their graces and another one had risen from the ashes. As much it was the reason for this sudden assumed rise to power, it was also at the heart of his worries. If he could become the Elder so easily, only by beating up the current one, what stopped someone like Strongclaw, who was much stronger and seen as the future elder anyway, from beating him to a pulp to get the title as soon as he turned his back? These Pikachu might seem nice at the moment, but it was those same Pikachu who had growled at him earlier for speaking his mind, the same who killed Pichu to protect themselves; they simply couldn't be trusted. On the other paw, by taking power, he would be able to teach them how to be better, so maybe they would like him for that, but this laid too much in the realm of possibilities for his liking. At the time, it was probably in his best interest to play it safe. "Thanks, everyone, for your support, but… I don't think I can be your Elder… and I don't think that the Elder should be chosen because he is the strongest chu around. Strongclaw… come here."

His first words killed the mood in room, sadness becoming apparent on the face of every rodent in the room (except for Strongclaw, whose ears perked up in surprise), the ones that followed made everyone very confused, since there was no such thing as an Elder not chosen for his strength and his last words urged everyone to turn their attention to Strongclaw. The large warrior held a growl, hating the idea of receiving an order from someone he didn't consider stronger than he was, even if he couldn't deny the power he possessed. There was something in the way Sparktail spoke, something powerful he couldn't really explain, but whose existence he acknowledged. He had to be obedient though, because Sparktail could very well be giving him the title, though it was unlikely, for it had never happened before. Anyway, he would never disobey an order. There would be another time to take back the power he deserved as the alpha male of the colony. Calmly, the large Pikachu moved in front of Sparktail, giving him only a hateful glare for a split second before bowing down. "Yes, Elder? What can I do for you?"

Rick sighed sadly. The glare Strongclaw had given him confirmed his theory about being beaten up by the warrior as soon he had the opportunity. Although it had been established by now that he had no negotiation skills, he had a good offer in mind that would please everyone. To ensure his safety, Strongclaw had to be the one to take that choice, not him or anyone else in this room. There couldn't be anything better to please the ego of the warrior. kind of awkward "Strongclaw… get up and call me Sparktail, I don't want you to act like I'm was some kind of powerful chu, because we all know that you are the big powerful warrior around here, you told me so yourself. I want to be your friend and a fellow warrior, not the big bad Elder who stole your promised place."

The warrior growled again, offended by how Sparktail was breaking every rule there was to break in the Elder position. Granted, he was being very nice, but the Elder wasn't supposed to be nice, he was supposed to be a powerful warrior, looked up to by everyone for his superior strength and ability. The Pikachu rose to his feet and stared at Sparktail, with no expression on his muzzle, other than a trace of withheld anger. "Yes, Sparktail, I won't do it again." he told the Pikachu, the cold tone of his voice being a threat in itself. Rick flinched slightly, but didn't back down. His message would get through completely before Strongclaw attempted anything to beat him up. "Good, Strongclaw. Now listen to me. If being the Elder means that I have to be the strongest warrior, then you can be the Elder, because I won't want to be it. However... I have another idea that you might like. How about, instead of having one Elder, couldn't there be two? You want to be the Elder, because you want to be recognized as the strongest Pikachu around, don't you? Well... you are the strongest Pikachu around now. If you want, I could make a title for it. You could be the Alpha Warrior. Everyone would look up at as being the strongest. While you would be doing that, I could doing things like improving the quality of the food chu get, improving the protection around the colony, improving how food is stored, improving our chances to survive predator attacks, as the Alpha… err… well, I will find a word for that later. You saw that I have a lot of knowledge, but I have a lot more to teach. With you as the Alpha Warrior to protect the colony like an Elder and me to make it better with my ideas, there will be more Pikachu and Pichu and everyone will be happier and safer. How does that sound? You can still be the Elder if you don't like it…"

Rick was looking at Strongclaw with a sincere and genuine smile, but inwardly, he was smirking. While what he promised was no lie, it had been thought up to touch one sensible cord in the head of every Pikachu: their survival. If Pikachu joined together in that colony, it wasn't because they wanted it, but because they couldn't survive alone. Rick had understood that by now. Their group identity was something frail, that one punch on the muzzle of their Elder could shatter. Had they valued their identity, they would have gang up against him to avenge their fallen leader. They just didn't care about it unless it threatened their survival. A stronger male was rising to power, more adapt to protect them and this was what truly mattered. There was only one thing that mattered more than that and Rick was offering it to them on a silver platter: more protection and safety. Strongclaw might have been a strong and proud warrior, but he was no different of the rest of his brothers. He was torn between becoming the Elder and the promise of a better life, but with less power in his paws. The only thing he would get in both cases was the satisfaction to know that he was the strongest warrior. The first choice would give him a title and the second would give him a better chance to survive. The warrior wasn't stupid and he would take the most rewarding option, which was to let Sparktail do his thing. Besides, if Sparktail had not said the truth and didn't bring the good he promised, he could always fight him in a duel later and take back the stolen title. Furthermore, it would give him a good reason to banish Sparktail and everything would be back to normal. Either way, in less than one moon cycle, his life would be better. Strongclaw couldn't say no to that. "I like your idea, Elder… err… Sparktail." The Pikachu said with a forced smile. Rick nodded and looked at every Pikachu watching and muttered "There will be a lot to change around here."

--

It was early in the morning and most Pikachu were still sleeping, but Pichu were boiling with energy and Shocky was no exception. Like everyone else, he wanted to play, especially now that he had a lot of new friends to play with. Since his daddy became the Elder, no Pichu thought he was weak anymore. He was now the son of Sparktail, the Pikachu who brought so many good things to the colony. There was just one little problem with his plan: his father was still sleeping and he didn't allow him to play outside alone since that predator attacked the colony, eight suns ago. Ironically, it was this attack that made his daddy the respected leader he was today, respected by even Strongclaw. Shocky remembered that day very well. His father was teaching him about numbers over 10, when suddenly he held his head in pain, shouting about having felt something bad. The Pichu had hugged his father to make him feel better and it had seemed to work, but Sparktail wouldn't stop talking about a threat, about something he had felt before. Since the young Pichu had no idea what his father was talking about, his daddy got mad and decided that it was time to "test my theory", whatever that meant. He gathered every warrior over the hill the colony had been build into, placed a few Pichu near the unguarded entrance and told everyone to wait. Strongclaw had said that day that Sparktail was crazy for doing that, but that it would have been a good reason to challenge his authority. What happened next… would stay burnt in the mind of everyone.

Attracted by the easy meal, an Arbok had slid toward the entrance, obviously targeting the unprotected Pichu, but Sparktail had been faster. Half a second before the great snake appeared, his daddy ordered everyone to rise and to shoot their strongest bolt on the left. By the time they had risen and charged their cheeks, the snake burst out of the bush and was hit by ten bolts released by the surprised and panicked warriors. The frightened Pikachu survived this humiliation in front of their 'fearless' leader, but the snake… did not. One charged bolt from one warrior could daze a snake and forces it to retreat, but ten bolts literally fried that one. The news of this successful counter-attack shocked the colony. No one had seen the snake coming, no one had smelt it, but their leader had known before everyone where and when the snake Pokémon would strike. That day, Sparktail stopped being only the young new Elder; he became a hero, sent by the Great Elder, not only with knowledge about things to do, but knowledge of the future. Of course, should anyone really have taken the time to properly question Sparktail, they would have known that it had not been magic. He had simply felt the same warning in his head, the same feeling he got when Kagai had tried to kill him, the same that prevented his capture when the humans attacked. He felt the hunger of the predator about to strike the colony… and once he had gathered everyone, the mind of the snake Pokémon was leaving an imprint so deep in his brain that he could have tracked it down… but it had been easier to lay a trap using Pichu as bait. That snake had bitten the dust and would never threaten the colony, ever again. That day, even Strongclaw had bowed down at Sparktail's feet.

But that was eight suns ago and today, Shocky wanted to play and he was tired of waiting for his daddy to wake up. If Sparktail wouldn't wake up by himself, he would help him. It wouldn't be the first time a Pikachu lost some sleep because of an impatient Pichu. Shocky giggled and rubbed his cheek against Sparktail's left one, easing the passage of a few good kilovolts of electricity into the Pikachu. It was a weak charge with no chance of hurting him, but it did excite his central nervous system and made him jump on the spot, as if he had been woken up to the deafening sound of a gong. "Ahhh!! What the…? We are under attack! We must strike before they do. We must…"

His glance fell on Shocky, who was still giggling playfully, and he stopped shouting, feeling more annoyed than anything else at the moment. "Shocky! How many times did I tell you not do to that? It's impolite!"

His shouting didn't seem to affect the Pichu much. After hearing that rant, he only blinked and giggled again, as if it were only a game. And indeed, to Shocky, it was all a game, one that he intended on winning. "Oh… I did it three times, but err… I wanted to try it a fourth time, to… err… to show you that I remember how to count up to four!" It was a lie, of course, but by adding that innocent smile, those pitiful eyes and that bright face thirsty for knowledge, he had made himself hard to punish. In fact, instead of a punishment, the sly Pichu received a praise and a few accompanying pats on his head given by a smiling and proud Pikachu. "That's very good, son. Now, I suppose that you can tell me that again without lying, huh? You remember what I taught you about that, don't you?"

The Pikachu snickered as the Pichu became avoidant and looked away from his father. "Uh… no… I'm sorry, daddy. I won't do it again…" he said in shame, receiving another pat on the head. "Good. That's what I wanted to hear. But if you try that a fifth time, I won't have any choice but to punish you for real. I guess that you want to play a game outside the colony, hmm? How about I teach you a new trick, instead?" he said knowingly.

Giggling again, the Pichu perked up his ears curiously and pointed at Sparktail's head. "Are you going to teach me how you do the funny thing where you guess the future and a big bad Pokémon attacks? I want to do that! All my friends think it's special" he said eagerly, only to have his idea shot down almost immediately. "Shocky… I told you that you can't do that. I'm not even sure how I do it myself. I learned how to use it better, but it's not always a fun thing. Sometime I hear things that would scare even Strongclaw. You don't want to be like that."

Evidently, the Pichu wouldn't drop it without a few complaints, but before they turned into whining and crying, Rick dug into the pile of food and picked up two berries, one for each Pokémon. The sight of the berry efficiently shut the Pichu up. Shocky stuffed the fruit into his face happily, gulping it down in huge bites. He wasn't even taking time to taste the fruit, too busy eating it for that. It wasn't so much that he was famished, but like any child, there was simply no such thing as too much of a good thing. If he was given more berries than he could stuff in, he would eat them anyway, until he felt sick from overeating. Rick knew about that and he was using this to control Shocky and prevent him from acting stupid, until he learned everything to make him a good Pikachu, according to Rick's view of what a good Pokémon should be. Shocky wasn't the only one to be controlled like this, every chu, without exception, were given what they wanted while Rick silently taught them better. Two weeks had passed since he became the Elder and things were already becoming better.

Firstly, using a few food samples from the reserve, he taught them to tell the difference between spoiled food and food that should be eaten now before it became spoiled, which would prevent a lot of food poisoning, especially on young Pichu. Secondly, he taught every Pichu how to count up to ten. He tried with the adults too, but very few had been receptive to the concept of numbers. Although he considered the latter a failure, it was funny to see Strongclaw try to count to three and fail, though. It never failed to amuse Rick. Thirdly, he taught the guards and the warriors a few strategies to defend the colony. He had many other ideas in mind, like building a few devices out of wood to help modernize the colony. He would need more than two weeks for that, but the Pikachu would help him, since they now believed him to be some kind of holy chu sent by the Great Elder to protect them. He would also destroy that false view, in due time.

In a way, this colony was a little baby he was raising, and of which he was the proud father. Its former father would be jealous, had he still been alive to see it. The old Raichu didn't last long after the battle. Many believed that the old chu died because he wasn't the elder anymore and that it was his time to go to the side to the Great Elder chu in the Holy Nest, but Rick knew that it was only because the battle had greatly weakened him and exercised his heart more than recommended for an old rodent like him. The punch had nearly knocked him out, but it was a heart attack that had finished him off, that day. The old chu never woke up again to see his defeat. Since it was partially his fault, Rick made a little pile of rocks near the light well, over the elder room, for everyone (or at least Strongclaw) to remember that there had been a Raichu in the colony before and that he had been important, too.

Right now though, Shocky was more important than thinking about the past. Once his son was done with the berry, the Pikachu led him outside, using just enough electricity to see where he was going without worsening the effects of the voices in his head. Despite the safety the dark tunnels the colony offered, there was truly nothing as good as the light of the sun and the vibrant green of the grass (true, it looked more like grayish to him, but he had a fairly good imagination.) It was no wonder Shocky loved to play outside more than anything else, it was just what their bodies wanted. It filled them with energy and made them feel good. If there was a way for the chu of the colony to live outside at any time without worrying about the beasts lurking around, Rick would force everyone to play at least once a day, even though he wouldn't actually have to force anyone, since it was no secret that everyone wanted that. After all, without predators, there was nothing outside to disli-

As Rick was walking through the grass with Shocky, he received a seed on the head, forcing him to look up at the smiling face of a white and blue rodent Pokémon. Alright, there was one thing to dislike in these woods: those nasty Pachirisu, the food stealers of the trees. Those annoying squirrels had a long lasting rivalry with the chu tribe, according to Strongclaw. The Pachirisu didn't actually have anything against the Pikachu, but the fact that they thought that any kind of food was theirs to take was a bad thing when food was scare and that the Pachi clan had to share their territory with the chu tribe.

"Hi, Sparky!! Hi, Shocky!!" shouted the Pachirisu with her trademark high-pitched voice. Female Pachirisu generally had annoying voices, but this one had the ability to make Rick cringe each time she spoke. "Hi, Magic... I thought I told you to run around your tree until you fainted."

He usually replied to her with a lack of enthusiasm and annoyance in his voice, but it had never worked. Either this creature was immune to sarcasm or she was just too dumb to understand what it meant. It was probably the latter, but then again, Magic did have that strange name. When he met her for the first time, five days ago, she had introduced herself as being Swiftbolt, codenamed VX-008. She was apparently "born in a place nearby where many other Pokémon are born and play strange games with the humans in white", in her own words. Rick had barely translated that as "I'm a reject lab rat/squirrel/thing and I was thrown away because I was making the scientists' ears bleed out of annoyance, like those magical fairies in those children movies" It had not exactly been a polite or nice thing to say, but Magic apparently liked the word magical and kept repeating it, so much that Rick decided to call her Magic to shut her up. Ironically, it had actually worked… until the next day, at least. "Oh… I did it, Sparky! But being fainted was not that funny, so I did other stuff, then I slept, and then I ate, and then, oh! I saw you and I came to say hello, and you said, hi, Magic, I thought."

"Yeah yeah… I think I get it… I mean, I think I understand what you mean. Umm... so, did you see anything interesting around here today?" He asked the Pachirisu, faking any kind of interest in what she was saying. Actually, he did care about what she could see. From their height in the trees, Pachirisu could see things around the colony much farther than a Pikachu's nose could reach. There was always something for one Pachirisu to see and ten Pikachu to miss. This was one of the reasons he forced this friendship with Magic. Another of his long term plans was to create some kind of long term association between the Pachirisu clan and the Pikachu tribe. This would create the first real interspecies colony and end the rivalry. It was still a far cry, with the Pikachu hating the Pachirisu so much, but they had some qualities they could use. You just had to look deeply… very, very deeply into them.

"Hum… I saw some Pikachu, and some Pachirisu and some Pichu… oh, and I saw food and ate some too. And… I think that's all… oh wait! I also saw a black doogie, in a cave nearby! She was very nice!" she said innocently, making Rick raise an ear. "A doogie? You probably mean a doggie. Wait… That's not a good thing at all. Dogs are dangerous for us. We are their food." He tried to explain her, even though it probably entered one in one ear and came out the other. In fact, it just did.

"Oh no! She was very nice! I didn't go close to her, but she was smiling at me. I like new friends, so that's why I wanted to see you, because everyone likes new friends. But I found that seed on the way and it looked funny and… err… I forgot to tell you. Hehe... oh well, you still know now. I hoped you liked the seed though! I threw it at you!"

"…" If stupidity could kill, Magic would have been dead many times at this point. She was the perfect example of why Pachirisu were disliked. If some said that Pikachu were dumb, then Pachirisu were mentally challenged. At least, a Pikachu was able to tell that throwing a seed on someone else wasn't funny! Magic was lucky that Rick had needed her to locate that predator and attack her before she would even think about threatening his colony or else he would have taught Magic about insulting the intelligence of everything living in the forest. "Shocky… go back to the colony and tell everyone to prepare for defense. Tell the strongest warriors to join me. We may have an enemy to take care of. And… ask a female to heat up some berry juice like I taught them… I will need something to relax when I will be back."

The Pichu nodded and ran back to the colony quickly. His father sounded distressed and annoyed, which meant that it would be dangerous for him to argue. Had his father been in a better state of mind, he would have asked again why he wasn't allowed to drink heated berry juice, even if the answer would have been: "It's not good for you." Of the few things Rick had tried over the last two weeks, heating berry juice was the only thing that served no other purpose than his own enjoyment. By injecting high voltage of electricity in the juice of some fruits, ethanol was produced and the juice suddenly became more than a harmless beverage. This, of course, was more than enough of a reason alone to forbid Shocky (or any Pichu, for that matter) from drinking it.

A few minutes later, the eight most powerful warriors of the colony were reunited in two rows in front of their leader and their guest. They were all eying the Pachirisu suspiciously, worried that the white rodent might play a dirty on them, but they tried to stay focused on Sparktail despite that, knowing that if he had allowed the pest to be there, there had to be a reason. Their leader did strange things, but they had never brought anything but good to the colony; they would be stupid to doubt any decision of their elder. They were also eager to know the reason they had been gathered, but Sparktail fortunately took care of that need soon enough. Standing proudly in front of his troops, the Pikachu pointed at the Pachirisu and the crude drawing of a dog he made in the dirt while waiting. "This squirrel has spotted a large predator dog in the nearby cave. As you know, predators are bad for us and any living around here is a threat to us. So, instead of waiting for it to study our ground and attack us when we will be weak, we will go to that cave while she's unprepared and destroy her. Any question?"

The Pikachu all looked at each other, looking confused. They exchanged a few words, mainly about the Pachirisu and the danger that this duty could imply. They all seemed urged to ask the same questions, something Rick had noticed and decided to get rid of before it wasted too much of their time. "Anyone has a question that is not "why is the squirrel following us" or "why we go on something so dangerous"?" he asked then, sounding annoyed. This time, the rodents shut down and stared straight at him again rather reluctantly, knowing that it was no use to argue with their elder. Ironically, if they really had wanted to oppose themselves to Rick, nothing would have been so easy, since they are eight against one, many of them being stronger physically than Sparktail. Any of them could brag about potentially overthrowing the elder, but no one would actually take the risk of angering the Great Elder Chu by defeating His protégé. They could be stupid at times, but not that much. Satisfied, Rick symbolically passed his paw through the middle of the drawing to cut it in two parts. "Time for that beast to die."


	19. Lethal Blow

_Author Notes: Here's the last big chapter of Sparking Chaos. There is a really short epilogue coming next, but it's like 1/3 a normal chapter length, so it's hardly a chapter. For those who review, it would be nice if you took advantage of the fact there won't be that much to say about the epilogue to use the review of that "chapter" to tell me how you liked the story as a whole. It's in no way mandatory, but it would be nice. Oh well… don't forget to visit my blog for review responses and all the stuff. Enjoy your reading!_

**Chapter 19: Lethal Blow**

As much the announcement of the beast imminent demise had spirited up the troops, the actual travel to the beast's den had calmed them down and brought collective nervousness. It was obvious that, despite the trust they all had in their elder, none of those chu wanted to be there. Their uneasiness could have made their previous assessment of confidence in their leader seem like a blatant lie, but, knowing that they were willingly heading into a death trap to defeat a creature they had never seen before in the name of the colony and their elder, it wasn't hard to understand why they still were a bit nervous. If that wasn't enough, they were led by a creature they hated with a burning passion. The small white and blue rodent-like creature inspired them nothing but disgust and disdain. Some might say that this was close-minded thinking, but the pikachu thought of it as preventive defense. Pachirisu took away their food, dominated the world over with their impressive climbing abilities and were just plain too weird when it came to discussing with one. All those facts taken into consideration, the pikachu couldn't help but fear that this was a dirty trick played on them. Their elder hadn't seen the beast, right? What if there was actually nothing in that cave? What if the pachirisu used this moment where the colony was mostly undefended to attack and pillage their food reserve? What if all this was a big joke? Those hypotheses, even though they were never formulated as such in their primitive minds, left a strong feeling that something was wrong about the mission.

Fortunately for the integrity of their group and the health of the squirrel, none of those worries evolved into an action to counter the potential threat. They were nervous and concerned, but the supreme authority Sparktail represented couldn't be defied unless they had a good reason to do so, a fact everyone agreed to. A feeling wasn't a physical proof that could be used to shoot down their leader, especially when one couldn't tell if the others felt the same about it. If they returned to the colony and that their food reserve had indeed been pillaged, only then would Sparktail's elder position be challenged. Until they faced the undeniable proof, nothing would be done. In that regard, Rick's humanity was often used to cover these holes left by such a passive animalistic behavior. While the others waited for disasters to strike them before fixing a problem, Rick thought ahead and eliminated the source of trouble before the damage was done. While others had feelings and would ignore them or flee, the former human analyzed them and deduced the best course of action to reduce the threat, even if it meant a bit of self-sacrifice.

Diving in the unknown like this was a perilous venture, but if Magic had said the truth, then no mouse would be killed in a few days or weeks by that same beast, shouldn't they neutralize it while they knew of its existence. Some rodents could potentially be injured or killed during the fight, but compared to all those whose death would be avoided, the sacrifices were worth it. This was the heart of Rick's philosophy as a leader. Before, each individual protected its own self and didn't care much if a neighbor was killed as long they were still alive and the colony still properly defended. It was an individualistic system that had been far from being efficient, but that had worked for creatures that were thinking more about the now than the future. However, to be able to grow into more civilized creatures like Rick wanted them to, individualism wouldn't suffice. His colony wouldn't be a group of selfish individuals, but a unified group heading toward one goal. In his system, no individual was worth more than any other, no one could claim to possess something over someone else if they hadn't deserved it. In such a system, every member was a cog of a larger mechanism, the colony. The health of the colony had to be the prime concern, not their life. If an action would kill you but save two individuals, you had to die. To sum it in a few words, it was a system where the good of the many was more important than the good of the few.

Obviously, if Rick had tried to explain that to the other rodents, they would have thought him crazy and banished him. Instead, he used missions like this one to subtly teach them the philosophy through examples. A pikachu wouldn't believe words and concepts, but would trust anything its eyes would see. The coming battle would be such an example. If some were injured, but the beast was killed, he would have a point to use to defend his action. In the unlikely case that most of them were killed and that the beast still lived… then his own philosophy would work against him, as he would be seen as the threat to the greater good. With any luck, this wouldn't happen.

No matter the outcome, it was too late to back away. After a few minutes of walking through one of the many comfortable paths around the valley used to facilitate the gathering of resources, then a rough trip into the savage wilderness with the white rodent as their only guide, they finally reached their destination. This destination could have been described using many words, but the "unwelcoming" would be an appropriate summary. Nestled into a deep depression in a nearby rocky cliff, the cave opening was four feet tall and three feet wide. The unusual rock formation making the entrance strangely looked like a huge mouth waiting to devour anyone who came too close. This concept was illustrated by the rough rocky floor randomly filled with many pointy rocks that may have looked like teeth if their positioning hadn't been more like a mine field than a perfectly straight row. If that wasn't enough to shake the rodents' fur, remains of bones, skulls and a strong stench of blood around the area didn't leave any doubt about what the former occupants used this cave for.

Such a devastating sight made most rodents stop a few feet from the entrance, unwilling to go any closer than that. None of them had ever seen this cave before, the horrific stench having discouraged any bold approaches before they could even had seen the cliff. Once again, Magic had proved to be like a splinter in their paw by forgetting to mention such an important detail as the state of the cave they were about to visit. Among all of them, Rick was probably the only one to understand why she hadn't mentioned it. For those a pokemon of the trees like the joyous little squirrel, the things on the ground could do little do affect them, since they couldn't touch them. What everyone had recognized as a death trap, Magic had pictured it as something nice to see, so long she was high up in a tree. Speaking of the squirrel's behavioral habits, as soon the warriors reached the cave, Magic did quickly run up the closest tree to watch the events unfold from a safe spot, obviously not wanting to be as close to the cave as she had suggested she would. As if a distress signal had been triggered by the retreat of the squirrel, every pikachu turned to face their leader, wanting an explanation and, more importantly, to be given a good reason as to why they should go into that dark cave when their guide didn't even want to set foot in it.

Feeling eight pairs of eyes staring at him as if he was the incarnation of the devil, the former human took a step back nervously, eying the cave with a gloomy feeling. Things weren't going as good as expected, but he couldn't just retreat like this, when he was so close to the goal. If nobody wanted to follow him into the cave, he would have to show them the meaning of courage. In this situation, courage wouldn't mean blindly running into trouble to prove his point, though some may have a different opinion on the matter. He would walk in there alone, but not without being backed up properly, should something bad happen. Looking back at his worried troops, Rick took a confident tone of voice, worthy of an acting award. He could talk as much he wanted to, but he wasn't really at ease with what he would do, even if it was his duty to look like he was. "Listen up everyone. Since I led you here, I will confront the beast myself and lure it out. Like with the huge purple monster, you will charge your cheeks and be ready to release it all on the black doggie as soon you will see it run out of the cave chasing me. If you hear me scream, don't run away. The beast will come out to get you and then you will be able to kill it. If you fail to do that, run as fast as possible back to the colony and defend it as much you can. Everyone understood?"

His orders might have sounded simple to the common soldier, but to those rodents, it was like if Sparktail had tried to describe a complex sequence of actions in a language they had never learned. As expected from such creatures, their glare of worries and anger turned to a look of confusion as they looked at each other in hope than someone else had understood something, but with no such luck. They had understood the beginning well enough, but when Sparktail began to ramble about the various outcomes, he lost them with his long sentences and his hypothesis. As the Alpha warrior, it was Strongclaw's role to speak up and to make Sparktail understand that they… well, that hadn't really understood a thing of what he had said. "Sparktail, do we have to attack or do we have to run? Why would you scream?" asked the powerful warrior, no less confused than the rest of his kin.

Those questions so innocently asked made Rick sigh in slight annoyance and disappointment. How would he have to explain it so they understood? By making drawings or acting the scene? If there was only one good thing in all this, it was that the pikachu seemed more confused than reluctant to follow his plan, which would play in his favor. As for the orders themselves, he supposed that simplifying them the most he could would do the trick. It shouldn't be harder than trying to implement some crude logic in computer code. "You are all going to stay here and charge your cheeks, no matter what you hear or see. When you see the beast, you shock it. If it doesn't die, you run away. Now, do you understand?" he asked them, frowning disapprovingly.

This time, his words appeared to be effective. Without useless words to hinder the core actions and with a sequence presented in almost a programmatically manner, the mysterious orders didn't seem so confusing anymore. They were still a bit weird, but the pikachu were used to those strange tactics that seemed illogical at first, but that brought them a lot of good later. If Sparktail had said it, it couldn't be bad for them. Without any further delay, the pikachu moved to make a half-circle formation surrounding the cave and began to charge their cheeks at a slow pace. Done too quickly, they wouldn't be able to contain it long enough for the beast to come out. An early release would leave the chu weakened and open to attack, which could be lethal.

His troops now ready to protect him, Rick slowly walked into the cave, where fate waited for him with a sword pending over his head. Inside that dark chamber, his protection outside would be worth nothing and he knew it. If the predator was to pounce on him, he wouldn't survive it. The beast would surely be killed after his death and if one chu had to die out of this mission, it might as well be him. He led everyone here and it was his duty to accept the consequences for his actions. He had known more than everyone the risks of coming here, but if he hadn't been willing to accept those terms, he wouldn't be throwing himself in the jaws of beasts, would he? He sure wouldn't be a man of word if he had backed away. Although, his own logic was a bit flawed there, since it wouldn't be good for the colony if the elder was killed instead of some worthless bait, but it wasn't the first time in human history (or so to speak) a general did a bold move.

Calmly, Rick crawled into the depth of the cave, lighting his way with sparks. This action alone was more risky than anything else, given his special ability. As he moved electrons around his body, the gateway to his mental abilities opened itself to allow any brainwave in range to be analyzed, identified and accumulated in a basket of emotions many times too small to contain them all. He suddenly felt the fear of his kin waiting outside, their nervousness and their worries. He could feel the sickening innocence of all the pachirisu up in the trees around and laughing at the funny scene under them. All those voices crushed the tiny limit he could tolerate, and yet, they paled in comparison to energy patterns coming from the creature inside the cave. It was stronger because of its proximity and the size of the creature's brain, and also strangely empowering. He had expected the obvious urges for hunger and killing so common to predators, but it wasn't so much what the voice was saying that bothered him, but how it was saying it. It was counter-intuitive to think that way about a soundless voice, but he could associate the pattern of waves to an individual like one could associate a pattern of sounds to a person's voice. Its shape could be molded around the templates of every creature he spent a lot of time with in the past, like Strongclaw, Shocky, Jen, or… even Kagai. Being the only enemy he had, the dark vixen was the last thing he wanted to see around here, but the closer he came from the creature, the more the energy pattern seemed to fit within his perception of what the Umbreon's mind had been. As his sparks flashed through the cave, he could see some parts of it, but it soon wasn't even needed. His sparks were producing some light, it wasn't the only contestant at this game of lighting anymore and this new source of light crushed his in every way. Deep into the cave, three yellow rings began to glow about a one foot above the ground, revealing around them the dark shapes of a large canine body at least twice his size and black as coal. It was comfortingly resting on the floor in a stance indicating that it was trying to take a nap.

Sparktail tried to keep his cheeks sparking, but he soon found himself unable to continue. His sparks… no… his whole body began to lose its energy. There was a presence in his mind, a ghostly soul feeding on his connection with his psychic powers to strengthen itself. This ghost had no form, no shape, but it was hungry and out of control. It was sucking out energy faster than he could produce it, threatening the integrity of his mind. For his health, he released his electricity, closing the pathway to his mind. No matter what had happened just there, he knew one thing, as he crouched to the ground to prevent his dazzled mind from making him faint: his light wasn't needed anyone. Slowly, a last ring lit the forehead of the beast, displaying the threatening head of the creature. The forehead ring's light was reflected into its opening eyes, making the two deadly eyes pronounced, their bloody red color and piercing glare fixating his body with their insatiable hunger for his flesh. Rick didn't need psychic abilities to know that this creature wanted him death and to be chilled to the bones by the gloomy stare given by the creature he knew to be an umbreon. He couldn't quite explain how the creature had been able to block his psychic ability and suck on it, but his weakened state didn't seem like any good for him.

Dark pokemon were a mystery for the scientific community. It was known that they had a lot of advantages over many kind of pokemon and that they were able to crush psychic pokemon, though they weren't really psychics themselves. One thing neither Rick nor the umbreon knew had been at work here. Psychic pokemon and gifted individuals like Rick were living forms able to connect with the universe to various levels and manipulate the world around them as if they were part of it. To a psychic, there was no difference between an apple and a thought. Both were something part of the universe and that could be controlled. On the other side of the spectrum were dark pokemon. Those creatures didn't connect to the universe, but rather untied those around it from it. They then fed on the gap of energy released from the rift and used it to sustain their mind and their body with it. If one dark pokemon could get enough energy that way, it would almost be allowed to go days, weeks or months without food and water and still be in top shape. What just had happened to Rick was a testament to that ability to steal vital energy from others. By using his electricity, his mind had gripped itself one layer closer the universe and left open a large quantity of energy for the umbreon to take, weakening him to the point he had to stop. The black canine had no idea that she had done anything to the pikachu, but she knew that she felt more awake and that the pikachu was weaker and hers to take. That should be enough to launch an attack on the rodent immediately, right?

Not quite. A few minutes ago, the vixen had been awakened by the voices of the rodents outside. She had felt quite happy when one of them said it would enter alone, but much less when she heard the name of the rodent. Sparktail. Surely, there could be a lot of Sparktail in the forest, but she wanted to make sure to know which one he was before attacking him. Identifying him was a simple matter of recognizing his smell and trying to associate it to something she knew, which to her great pleasure, it did. This Sparktail happened to be the same one she had lived with before… the same one who hadn't liked her much. Feeling an urge of repressed anger, the vixen pounced and landed right over the rodent just as he had opened himself to attack by putting one paw to the ground. Her dark and threatening muzzle loomed over him in satisfaction, savoring his delicious scent. "How good it is to see you again, Sparktail. You didn't miss me much, I hope. I didn't miss you at all. In fact… I think would rather have you dead. Pikachu bodies are such a fun thing to prey on." She stated matter-of-factly with a slight grin on her muzzle.

The pikachu gulped nervously. Out of every umbreon he could have met, this one had to be Kagai. This posed an interesting dilemma his plan didn't take into account. While the umbreon seemed to want him dead, Rick knew better than to believe her and to lead her to her death outside. Kagai had, many times in the past, played with his mind to take revenge on him for having been a smartass. There was one major difference between then and now, though: Jen wasn't with her to calm down her feral instincts. Jen wasn't… where was she, anyway?

Shaken by this crucial question, the pikachu remembered that Kagai had been taken away by those men, at the same time as Jen. The memory felt like a dream, so far and cloudy in his mind that he had barely remembered it, up until now. It had suddenly returned from its lost little corner to strike back with its many questions. How did Kagai escape? Where was Jen? Why did the umbreon seem stronger all of a sudden? How the heck did she get so close from his colony? Where was Jen?

So many questions, but so many he doubted the umbreon would be willing to answer, or even able to answer. No matter what she did choose to do, the rodent had more than just those questions to think about. Unless Kagai said otherwise, he was still in a situation where Kagai could pounce on him and shred him down to guts and meat. The dark pokemon was looking down at him and occupying all his field of view. There was no way he could escape if he wanted to (though he could call on his troops as a sacrifice call), he was trapped like the mouse he was. It was kind of ironic. After he had done all those efforts to be as human as possible and make those around him like that, he could still easily go back at the bottom of the food chain without warning. Ironic… but not enough to stop him from trying his luck. "Kagai…" he whispered as he sat up to get a better view of her muzzle. Two weeks had passed, but the umbreon was still as deadly as ever. Those rows of teeth, those scary eyes… "…I… you wouldn't… I mean… I am your friend… maybe not the best friend there is, but… I became a bit better while around here. I'm… err… nicer. Beside, how many pikachu did you really hunt? No offense, but I thought you were like… young and kind of inexperienced… but… err… you seem to be looking look and in top shape today… so maybe you trained. That would… certainly be a good thing… for you" the pikachu said, sounding more like is he was rambling more than anything else. He had tried to sound like he had improved and to praise the umbreon in hopes to soften her. It was a cheap tactic, but it wasn't like he didn't think what he said. Kagai did look a lot stronger than before and she did do that strange thing to his mind.

Unfortunately, the umbreon didn't quite bite to his bait, but she did open herself to joking a bit. It was a greater satisfaction to see her enemy crushed at her paws and pleading for his life in unusual ways than just ending his life. She would let him live longer, but only for him to hear the little tale she had to narrate. "I'm not sure that you are really a friend, only Jen and… Sunny… were…" she started saying, her voice taking a sad tone on her last words. Thinking about her only successful pikachu hunt forced her to remember the cruel fate that fell on her friends, horrors that she would rather have wanted to forget about. The umbreon shook her head as if to chase the memories away and refocus on her tale. "Speaking of Jen and pikachu hunting, I met this strange female pikachu saying she was Jen. Crazy little thing. I wanted to hunt her, but she was trapped in some kind of hard clear thing and I couldn't reach her. Someone must have liked me a lot, because I found myself free in the forest and with the same pikachu tied up with… this…"

As she talked, she moved a few steps back to grab something on the floor where she had previously been laying down and dropped it in front of Sparktail. The object, mostly white, looked like some kind of plastic cord broken in a few places. It was only mostly white, but only because it was partly stained with blood and clearly burnt in some spots. "...when I was about to kill the pikachu, she broke the thing over her muzzle with her light and then talked to me. She said all those crazy things about Jen again, but she let me kill her, because she was a gift from Jen to make me strong again. So I clawed into her fur and savored that red liquid. Then I bit into her—"

Rick's eyes went wide in horror and his ears lowered. Kagai was explaining in a lot of details how she had killed and eaten that pikachu, but he wasn't listening anymore. Her sadistic words were harsh, but compared to what she had just said moments before… they were soft. Rick couldn't believe what she had just said, he couldn't fathom how this could have happened. He was baffled with how innocent and stupid this umbreon was. Hadn't she any idea of what she had done? Couldn't she even… even grasp the concept of transformation? He didn't go around telling he was human because he was crazy! If that… that female pikachu had claimed to be Jen… and then… then…

Glancing at the heavily damaged and dirty binding cord, the pikachu shivered and whimpered at the thought of what had happened. Pikachu didn't cry often, as it wasn't a bodily function they really needed, but the emotional shock was just too much for him to keep inside. "You…" he muttered as he crawled away from the predator, his eyes wetting up and tears soon rolling down his cheeks. He didn't care about his safety anymore. He would rather die than bow down to a murderer, no matter how naïve she was. "You don't get it, do you? You… you will never see Jen again… she… you… how could… no…no… Jen!"

Angered, the pikachu released a low energy bolt on the plastic band, adding another black burn to it, though meeker than the ones Jen had originally made in her attempt to free herself. The sudden light made Kagai jerk back in surprise and Sparktail's crying and shouting removed that smug smirk from her muzzle and replaced it by a worried look. Scaring him was one thing, but making him sad and moreover about Jen hadn't been what she had wanted. She was barely recovering from the fact Jen wasn't around to help her and it was still obviously a sensible matter for her. Jen was like her second mother and she needed her around to feel safe. She had survived by hunting rattata since she had been released, but nothing would be quite like having Jen around to feed her and take care of her. She didn't connect to Sparktail's pain as a human would, but she could try to make him feel better, in her primitive and naïve way. "Sparktail… I think you are being stupid. We will Jen again one day. If I was released, Jen will too and she will find us. I know she will. That's what a nice mother like her would do. Now stop being stupid and shocking my toy, or I will have to hunt you for real."

Her voice, serious, but yet destroying her act of the cruel predator who didn't think of Sparktail as anything more than food to satisfy her hunger, had fallen short to calm Rick down. He was relieved that she was getting her senses back and considering not killing him, as it would open the path to some negotiations about how they would share the same territory, but… that talk wouldn't be today. He didn't feel like saying anything to that dumb umbreon and he wouldn't until he was done with mourning Jen sadistic murder.

Taking advantage of the defensive stance the umbreon had taken, the mouse turned around and moved back toward the entrance, where the light shined and no mindless murderers lived, away from his burning desire to kill the umbreon for her action and to judge her unfairly for something he couldn't call her guilty. Kagai was only a predator, a killing machine that had done her job without asking any question. He could only be glad that she was nice enough to let him live. Whether it was because she considered him a friend or as simple respect for Jen was still to determine, but he was thankful for it anyway. "Don't you dare… approach the colony of pikachu nearby until I return... if you try anything, I won't hesitate to have you killed, like the last predator that lived in this cave before you. Hunt something else, like those rattata. We can still be friends, though. That's what… what Jen would have wanted… but you will have to… to be nice until I find something to help with your… food needs… Bye… for now…" he told her, each word harder to say with each step he took toward the exit and his growing fear that Kagai might still kill him for leaving so suddenly. Luckily, the dark beast didn't prevent him from leaving and went back to biting on her white toy. This discussion with Sparktail hadn't left her in the best of state either. Hopefully, he would be right about finding her food, because the last thing she wanted was to make Jen mad by killing the rodent the girl had forbidden her from eating. For Rick however…

Disheartened, the pikachu made his way out of the cave, where his troops were waiting impatiently for a new order or news about what had happened. On that, Rick didn't disappoint them, but he didn't have the enthusiasm or the confidence he had went he first went into the cave. It was rather hard to force himself to be happy and it just didn't seem worth it with those pikachu. They wouldn't care for anything else than his words, anyway. "The predator won't attack us if we leave her alone. We will be safe. I don't want to see anyone near this cave ever again! Everyone back to the colony, NOW! I won't repeat it!" he screamed at them in rage, his cheeks sparking uncontrollably. For anyone who knew Sparktail, seeing him using any form of threat and violence at his own kin was unseen. Something was wrong with him, but as before, crazy would be the one to try to reason the elder. Not unhappy to leave this place anyway, the mice nodded and ran away from the cave, leaving only Sparktail and Strongclaw, who had waited for him. A glance was all the Alpha Warrior received as a thank you for staying as Rick walked pass him on four paws, heading toward the dirt path at a slow and unmotivated pace. "Go away, Strongclaw. I need some time alone. We will celebrate this victory around a few apples later, ok?"

Strongclaw looked at Sparktail, half confused by his behavior and half saddened by his own inability to make him feel good again. Muttering a quiet yes, he ran ahead of his friend to join the rest of the warriors. At long last, Rick was alone. No more troops, no more predator, no more friends, no more responsibility; no one to get in the way of his sorrow and his loss. Jen had been human like him and deserved to be recognized as such, even past death. He might as well be the only to know; though he had almost wished he didn't. How could someone so young, so gentle, so beautiful be killed like that? It made no sense, but then again, what did in that world? His best friend was a pikachu, his son was a pichu, his rival was an umbreon. The only girl her he had liked, maybe had a crush on, had been of a different species than his and now that she was the same species, she was dead. Trainers were kidnapped for random reasons to be turned into pokemon, transformation was a possible thing, his cheeks were a weapon of massive headache. No… nothing made sense in the world he was and yet, everything had a meaning. What was the meaning of her death? He didn't know and probably never would. But he did know one thing he would never forget: fate had given him a path, a tortuous one, but from his path, a network of roads would be created. No matter how things went, no matter how bad or good, he would try his best to make sure those that were still alive would reach their full potential. As for the dead… they would get what they deserved…


	20. Trouble Future

**Epilogue: Troubled Future**

"May the Great Elder Chu continue to check over you, Jen." Solemnly repeated Rick, glancing at the sky. It had been a few days since Kagai had arrived in their "neighborhood" with her destructive words of sadness and things hadn't really got better since then. The arrival of the dark pokemon had ended his perfect little pikachu life, but had brought forth an era of compromises. He wasn't alone anyone at the top of forest hierarchy. Before, he had tried to lead with his cold logic, but he couldn't have such freedom nowadays. Even if Kagai was his natural enemy, he couldn't bring himself to have her killed. As much the pachirisu were hated by the pikachu, he couldn't trap them to feed Kagai either. He had an agenda to respect and to make the most out of it, he had to let go of some of the perfection for a more practical approach. At the same time, he let go of some of his logic to practice an activity he would never have done before. In front of his shrine in honor to Jen, he was praying for her to have a good life in the afterlife. It made no sense for him to do that, but it did put his soul to rest and allowed him to peacefully accomplish what needed to be done for the rest of the day.

Her death had almost destroyed him and his hopes for the future, but he held on, thanks to this little package of faith. There had been no doubt in his mind that Jen had believed in Arceus and respecting the tradition was the best homage he could have given her. The little rock he was crouched in front of was the only physical link between him and her and he respected it as much as if it was the real Jen. It wasn't any rock, though. It had took him a few hours of search around the colony to find that perfectly round and soft rock, the kind one would usually find near the sea. After he had moved it near the rock dedicated to the former elder with the help of Strongclaw, he had looked at it for a long time, thinking of the best way to honor who Jen had been. The rock was soft and nice, but it hadn't been enough. There could have been many rocks like that one and Rick had wanted that one to be unique. The method he found to make sure it would be wasn't that original, but it had required a lot of work and thinking: the first letter of her name would be carved on its surface. The ideas had been good, but its application had left much to be desired. Without the proper knowledge of letters, it took Rick at least one day to remember the letter making the "jee" sound and when he finally did…

Anyone looking at the rock and knowing who it was dedicated to would know that G wasn't exactly the letter that needed to be carved on the rock, but Rick had never been aware of his mistake and felt proud of his work. He was more than happy to have a place where he could think and focus himself early in the day.

Being done with that, Rick moved back on four paws and looked down at the small valley below. Jen might not be with him, but he knew that she would have been proud of him. Thank to him, the pokemon around his colony would be better. The chu would grow stronger, the pachirisu would as soon he would have been able to have a proper contact with them and their territory would expend eventually. Everything was far from being perfect. To allow Kagai to stay around, she needed a source of food. She could feed on the rattata, but he knew too much that she would drive them to extinction in the area and eventually force Kagai to feed on his kin. To avoid that, Rick had been forced to make a deal with her. In exchange for a place to stay and the promise that no chu would try to kill her, he promised her that she would be able to feed on some chu that would be "lost". It was a cheap and dirty tactic, but Kagai would only get the chu who were too weak and not enough of them to prevent the colony from growing stronger and in bigger numbers. Beside, having her around filled a niche that no other predator would try to take. As long Kagai was there, they would be safer.

This equilibrium would work for some time and become broken eventually, but by then, the rest of his plan would have been set in motion. His mental prowess wouldn't be limited to only one hill in the woods. His influence would grow, but that was still a long term plan. Controlling his colony was like controlling a new civilization. It would expend over time, but it was that… only time would bring out some results. There was no reason to eliminate everything around to have the fastest growth. If history had taught him one thing, it was that human's desire to control everything too quickly without caring for how much nature could give them led them to be kicked back in the face eventually. He wouldn't make the same mistake. Eventually, things would have to disappear and the map of species control over the forest would be redrawn, but once again, that laid far in the future.

To even think about laying the foundations of his plan, days to days duties were essential. His mental preparation was over and it was time to take care of his people. He would help food to be gathered, teach the pichu more lessons about life and spend some time with his son and his friend Strongclaw. Another day, he would train the soldiers to be more effective. Another week, he would try to think about a new device that could be built to improve their quality of life. Another month, he would maybe start to think about finding a mate. In the forest around his hill laid the future and he would fully be a part of it. One day, his colony, the forest, the world would know who Rick Sparktail Tortoas was.

--

The sea… when you looked at it, you would only see an endless plane of blue water. This place was empty, devoid of anything particularly interesting. But when you looked under the surface, it was a new world of discoveries thatopened itself to you. At times, you think that you might have found the bottom of it, when another seafloor crevice appears and taunts you with its unexplored territories. Endless and full of mysteries… this was how Bill saw the world of science. Each time he stared at the sea via the large glass windows of his lighthouse near the coast, he saw a reflection of his life and of his work. The PC system, his most renowned invention,the thing that hadmade him a rich man today, was supposed to be the pinnacle of his life. With it, Pokémon could see any corner of the world with instantly through the world of digital transportation.

That was before project Ditto cameto the table. Paid by the army, his new laboratory was equipped with the most recent devices in the world of nanotechnology. With that, a new crevice at the bottom of the sea of knowledge could be explored. Giving Pokémon a vast view of the world wasn't enough. With this invention, people could understand what itfelt liketo be a pokémon. They would become closer to them, closer to living in harmony. A few weeks ago, his machine had been completed. At long last, it could transform a human into a Pokémon and reverse the process. But what was the price? Not only didhe fear that the army was currently using his technology in secret to make new weapons, but it had cost the life of a talented young man and one gifted trainer. It had been one year today since the day Rickhad beenturned into a pikachu and almost one year since the tracker he had implanted in his head stopped working. He would never get to know what had happened to him, nor what had happened to that poor girl who was with him. They were both classified as having disappeared and long sincepresumed dead. This was the kind of thing science also brought. Sometimes, your ship would hit a cliff and people would be hurt or die. His project had brought that… and now that it was finally completed, he didn't want to risk more lives. Why endanger more, why—

As he was lost in the blue of the sea, a beeping sound interrupted him. It was his portable GPS, which tracked many pokémon to follow their movements. When the device made a noise, it meant that he had lost signal with one tracker. Absently, he took out the device from his pocket and stared at the digital map. A quick glance at the screen told him that the tracker was 17.36 miles from the light house and located about 5 miles south of Mt. Moon. Reading the identification number of the tracker, he froze. It couldn't be… "Rick…"

--

_At long last, this is over. After sixteen months of work, I can call this story done. I would like to thanks everyone who made it this far and helped me with reviews. I would like to thanks Tyler for proofreading most of the chapters, K.A. for having complained and F.D. for having inspired this story and AltoGuardian for his wonderful reviews. Most of all, I would like to thank Kirby "Jem" Oak for his support and his friendship through most of the last sixteen months. There had been hard times, but he was there for me. Thanks you very much._

_As for the future, I promise a new short sequel that I will start writing soon. It will be in the same chapter format as Fractured Bond, because long chapters are hard to write. Until then, I hope you all find lot of fun stories to read and enjoy._

_Ciao!_

_-DarkPokemonLover_


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